The Little Merman
by NansJns
Summary: The Little Mermaid with a DBZ twist! When Goku, the youngest son of the Sea King Vegeta, falls in love with a human princess named ChiChi, will he make a deal with the evil sea wizard Babidi to try and win her heart? pt.2 reposted with a quick note!
1. Default Chapter

Okay, this started shortly after first finding a copy of the original "Little Mermaid" in my college library and then watching Disney's "Little Mermaid". At first, it was going to be normal, but upon realizing that to have seven sisters I used up all of the DBZ girls (except their daughters), leaving no one except maybe Baba to be the sea witch, I hit a small problem. Sometime later, I suddenly hit on a perfect solution: instead of a sea witch, a sea wizard - Babidi! But after getting that idea in my head, I expanded on it - why not a near-full gender switch? It would certainly be easier to come up with seven brothers than sisters with the DBZ crew. The more I thought about it, the more fun it was. Thus, this was born.  
  
I'd like to thank those who helped me with this, especially Holly O. for all her suggestions and Serina Tsuki for her support and thoughts!  
  
Disclaimers: Look at me! I'm using stuff that isn't mine! The DBZ folks ain't mine, the original story ain't mine, and Disney's version (which I will use more of) ain't mine either! DBZ The Little Merman by NansJns  
  
Part 1: Beneath the Sea  
  
Beneath the rippling blue waves of the ocean was the kingdom of the merpeople. They had been ruled for many years by King Vegeta, who had seven sons and lived in a beautiful castle made of seashells, coral, and pearls. All seven of his sons were considered quite handsome. It was a strict law amongst the merpeople that visits to the surface and contact with anything human were to be as limited as possible, if at all. They held little trust for humans, who tended to treat their kind badly, catching them, and then doing who-knows-what to them. This law, however, didn't stop the adventure-loving Sea Princes from poking around sunken ships for laughs. The objects in the ships puzzled them mostly, and they were just as happy to leave the ships once the thrill had worn off. All except for the youngest prince, Goku. Goku was as tall as most of his brothers, with a lean, handsome face, shining dark eyes, broad, muscular shoulders and chest, and wild black hair that seemed to float in every direction at once no matter what the tide. His tail was a handsome, glittering orange color, with two little, horizontal, blue stripes on each fin. Goku was fascinated with human things, and would spend far longer in sunken ships than his brothers could. It was during one of their 'forbidden' trips into a newly sunken ship that Goku found a most unusual object.  
The seven brothers had been racing each other around rock formations when they first spotted the ship. Vegeta, the oldest brother and next in line for the throne, was in the lead, which was always something of a surprise to the other brothers. Vegeta was strong and fast, they'd never deny that, but he was also the most weighted down - being the next in line meant he wore the most extravagant mantle of seashells, pearls, and coral. It fell over his shoulders and covered more than half his chest. He wore seven strands of small, white-brown cowrie seashells in neat rows on each arm, starting at his wrists and ending at his elbows, and had a long string of large, colorful seashells on seaweed wrapped around his blue tail from the top of his fin to his waistline. Each brother's ornaments were a little smaller than the one before him; Raditz, with his silver tail, had only six strands of shells on each arm, the string of shells on his tail ended well before his waist, and his mantle didn't cover his shoulders and covered less of his chest than Vegeta's covered his. Tien, who had a green tail, had a smaller mantle than Raditz's, only five strands of shells on his arms, and a smaller string on his tail. After Tien, none of the mantles had any coral in them.  
Yamcha's was visibly smaller than Tien's, he had only four sea shell strands on his arms, and his dark yellow tail had a shorter string of seashells than Tien's. Juuna, who had a black tail, had fewer ornaments yet, and Krillin, whose tail was red, had less than him. Goku, being the youngest, wore the simplest decorations - his mantle was only a thin necklace of pearls and seashells, with a long, twisted, yellowish shell in the middle. He had only one string of shells on each wrist, and one small string of seashells around the top of his orange fin. He often felt envious of his brothers' more ornate mantles. They were zigging and zagging amongst rock formations when Goku, who was in the middle of the group, came to an abrupt halt and the others behind him had to scatter around him and each other to keep from crashing together. The ones ahead of them stopped and looked back.  
"What is it?" Raditz asked.  
"Look, there," Goku answered, pointing a short ways away. They all swam over to him to see what had caught his attention - a sunken human ship tilted heavily to one side. "That wasn't there the other day," Goku observed.  
"There was a storm last night," Vegeta said shortly. "It must have sunk then."  
"And that means..." Juuna said, a little smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.  
"Everything is still fresh!" Goku said with a sparkle in his eye. The brothers looked at each other gleefully. They'd never been in a recently sunken ship before.  
"You know what the law says," Vegeta reminded his siblings, his voice cool. The brothers all nodded. Then they all grinned at each other and took off to examine the ship.  
Getting in wasn't difficult for there was a large hole in one side of the hull, no doubt the cause of the sinking. Smacking into the bottom of the ocean hadn't done it a whole lot of good, either - several boards were knocked askew. They swam in through the hole and started looking around eagerly. The usual human things were lying around, but there weren't any bodies. Goku could tell that some of his brothers were a little disappointed by that. He separated himself to explore elsewhere. He went down a hallway and came to a door sitting halfway open. He pulled it open the rest of the way and swam in to look around. He had no way of knowing it, but he had just entered what used to be the living quarters of the ship's captain. Furniture, papers, quills, and knickknacks floated peacefully in the briny water, and Goku looked at it all in quiet wonder. He gave a flick of his tail to turn himself around and saw something half hidden beneath a toppled bookshelf. He lifted the bookshelf (though he had no idea what its purpose was), and looked at the strange box it had been covering. It was goodly-sized and square, and its lock had been broken. Unable to fight his curiosity, he opened the box. There was a shower of rising bubbles as the air inside escaped, and once the bubbles had dissipated, he could see a painting in a wooden frame. A piece of parchment floated out of the box and he grabbed it. There was something written on it, but not in any language he could read. He tossed it aside; it wasn't important compared to what he had just found. There were no such things as paintings under the sea, and he wasn't sure what it was. It showed a very beautiful young woman from the chest up; she had long, shining black hair that was tied loosely back, large, dark, sparkling eyes, with soft red lips curled in a smile, smooth peach skin, and she was wearing an ornate red dress. He stared at the painting for a long while, trying to figure out how it was made, and who she was, but nothing was revealed to him. There was more of the strange writing he couldn't read on the wood frame of the painting - "Crown Princess Chi-Chi of the Frying Pan Kingdom." He admired the painting for several long minutes, until he heard his brothers approaching. He quickly put the painting back into the box and went out to greet them, telling them he hadn't found anything. He wanted to keep the strange treasure for himself. Later, after his brothers had all left and were occupied with other things, he returned to the ship and took the painting to a safe place that only he and his friend Pu'ar the catfish knew about.  
  
Not long after Goku's discovery of the painting, a celebration was being held in the undersea castle. It was time for the annual Exhibition, where the sea princes of Vegetasei's kingdom dueled with the sea princes and best soldiers of other watery kingdoms. This year, it was to be the princes of the Kold Kingdom from the arctic sea. Due to the severe dark and cold of the waters they lived in, all of the Kold people were very pale, which made their lips seem darker and shinier. The matches were set up carefully; the eldest sons of both families, Coola and Vegeta, were to fight each other, then the captain of the Kold's army, a strange, purple mercreature (those of Vegetasei hesitated to call him a proper merman, as he looked almost nothing like one) named Ginyu, would fight Raditz, and finally, Frieza, the youngest son of the Kold empire, would do battle with Vegeta's youngest son, Goku. This was to be Goku's first Exhibition battle. Strangely, he was as powerful as his oldest brother, and everyone was eager to see how he'd do. It was only the anticipation of Goku's match- up that kept the other brothers from being totally upset at not having any available opponents to fight this time around.  
Prince Vegeta entered the ring from one side, Prince Coola from the other. Their fathers watched from their high seats, and the crowd cheered and booed loudly. King Vegeta's exquisite mantle of seashells, coral, and pearls, covered his chest almost completely, draping in a triangular shape down to his tail. In addition to the lines of shells from wrist to elbow, he had three more lines on both upper-arms, and he had twice as many shells on the seaweed string wrapped around his deep blue tail. All the Princes were to fight empty-handed, as was the rule; this was to be a submission match and not a match to the death. They faced towards each other, bowed, and then the announcer, a large green lobster named Piccolo, swam forward and the crowd silenced.  
"Merladies and Mergentlemen, welcome one and all to the annual Exhibition!" he called out in his gruff voice. The audience cheered loudly. "This year, there shall be three battles! The first bout shall be between the Crown Prince of Vegetasei, Vegeta..." Piccolo waved to Vegeta, who raised his arms and was cheered loudly by his people and booed by the visitors from Kold's realm. "...and the Crown Prince of the Kold Kingdom, Coola!" he motioned to the snowy-white, red-eyed merman on the other side, and his people cheered him as Vegeta's people booed in turn. "The match will end when one warrior is pinned for more than ten seconds, is knocked unconscious, or leaves the ring. Hand-to-hand only. Is this understood?" he asked the contenders, who nodded. "Are you both ready to do battle?"  
"Yes!" they both answered, smirking and grinning in anticipation.  
"Then...BEGIN!" Piccolo announced loudly, and the two lunged at each other. There was a flurry of punches and blocks until Vegeta slashed into Coola's chest with his tail. The blow sent him falling backwards with a deep cut across his chest. Vegeta dove forward again like a shark after prey, and swung a right cross at his opponent, only to have his arm caught and twisted behind him. He snapped his head backward, smashing the back of his skull into Coola's forehead. It hurt like hell, but it slowed Coola down. Piccolo, who helped train the princes, had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting out advice. Vegeta struck at Coola once more with his tail, and Coola hit the dirt. Vegeta started to smirk, seeing victory within his grasp, until Coola unexpectedly sprang up and was at his throat. Coola pushed Vegeta into the ground, pinning him there. Piccolo started counting through gritted teeth.  
"1-2-3-4-5-" Vegeta writhed beneath Coola, who was already laughing with his victory. In a burst of anger, Vegeta threw his opponent off and in turn, pinned him down. Piccolo started counting a little quicker, but Coola was up again before he could finish. The battle raged on for several minutes, until finally Vegeta managed to hurl Coola into the stands. He landed in the crowd amongst some Vegetasei supporters, who laughed at him mockingly in his loss to their hometown favorite. Vegeta left the arena, triumphant.  
  
"And now, Prince Raditz vs. Captain Ginyu!"  
  
Unfortunately, Raditz's match didn't go as well as Vegeta's had. Raditz was the tallest and broadest of all his brothers, but Ginyu wasn't small, either; and he was amazingly powerful. They fought valiantly for several minutes, but the match came to a crashing end when Ginyu grabbed a handful of Raditz's long black hair and used it to throw him into the ground. The pain in his head was excruciating, and before he could get back up, the much heavier Ginyu pinned him down in the mud. Raditz struggled furiously for several moments as Piccolo counted down. At ten, Ginyu released his vanquished opponent, and Raditz wobbly swam back to his side, covered in bruises and cuts and hanging his head in abject shame.  
Finally, Frieza swam out from of the Kold's side to the center of the  
arena.  
"For the final battle of the Exhibition, we have Prince Frieza vs. Prince Goku!" Piccolo declared, and Frieza received a lusty cheer from his people. Goku, however, had yet to enter the arena. Everyone waited excitedly, but, after several long moments, began to wonder if something was wrong. "Goku, it's your turn!" Piccolo yelled toward the Vegetasei side. The other princes glanced around anxiously and realized their youngest brother was nowhere to be found.  
"Well! It seems your youngest son got a case of cold fins and swam off!" King Kold laughed loudly.  
"He must be part guppy!" Frieza agreed, also laughing. King Vegeta was seething.  
"GOOOKUUUU!" King Vegeta bellowed through the waters.  
  
Goku was actually a few short miles away from the palace at that moment. He had left prior to the start of the Exhibition to get in a little last-minute practice, as he was just a little bit nervous. In the midst of his practice, a very large, hungry, and stupid shark decided to attack him. Goku had fought the shark off as best he could, but it managed to graze his orange tail with its sharp teeth, and the smell of blood in the water had filled the fish with the overwhelming need to kill and eat. Worse, the smell brought at least fourteen other sharks down upon the merman as well. He tried to run at first (a feeding-frenzy was the last thing he needed to be in the middle of) but the hungry predators all chased after him. When it became clear that he wasn't going to escape, he faced them down, and eventually managed to fight them all off. Those who didn't wind up turning on each other ran away, except for the first one to attack him. He delivered several painful blows to the shark before it finally died. Realizing that he was ravenously hungry after all of that effort, Goku ate the shark himself. It was only then he realized that he'd been chased straight into an area called the "Ship Graveyard." He might have dismissed it outright, if only the soft sunlight filtering through the water hadn't made something in one of the ships sparkle, its shine catching the corner of his eye. Wondering what he and his brothers could've missed, he headed straight for the ship.  
"Hey, Goku! What are you doing?" a high, squeaky, semi-female voice inquired, and Goku turned to see his friend Pu'ar, the catfish. The blue fish swam up to him casually.  
"I'm checking something in that ship," Goku said as nonchalantly as he could. Pu'ar's eyes widened in alarm and she clapped her little fins on her scaly cheeks.  
"Again?! Oh, no! You'll get in trouble!" Pu'ar objected.  
"Aw, relax! Me and my brothers do this all the time. And I just want to see what's making that light," Goku said, motioning to the sparkle. They quickly reached the ship and Pu'ar fidgeted uncomfortably.  
"But you know the law. You're not supposed to have contact with anything human!" she said fretfully, close to begging him to leave. Goku was concentrating on the ship - whatever was reflecting the light was just on the other side of a cracked window.  
"That part of the law is ridiculous. Between ships sinking and things just falling overboard, the sea is full of human stuff. Where's the harm in looking at it?" Goku replied, and carefully removed more of the broken glass so he could slip inside.  
"Goku! You're hurt!" Pu'ar gasped as he swam past her into the ship. Blood still seeped from the wound in his tail in small drops.  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I had a run-in with some sharks. I need to take care of that," he said, and Pu'ar took off. A few moments later, she returned with several pieces of seaweed in her mouth, and Goku used them to bandage his wound. "Thanks, Pu'ar," Goku nodded as he secured the bandage around his tail.  
"You're welcome, Goku," Pu'ar said with an indulgent smile. Then Goku turned his attention back to the ship. Swimming a little to the side so as not to block the incoming light, he watched the sunlight bounce off a dagger clutched in the death grip of a waterlogged body. He pried the small weapon from the clenched fist and stared at it curiously. It looked similar to the fish-bone blades his people used, but he wasn't sure if it was for the same use.  
"What is it?" Pu'ar asked quietly, slightly awed.  
"I have no idea. But I'll bet Turtle will," Goku answered, a quick grin on his face. "I wonder if there's anything else interesting in here." He looked around and found a small jar, but nothing else that he hadn't seen several times. Carrying his newly discovered treasures carefully, he swam off toward the island where Turtle lived, with Pu'ar following close behind him.  
"Goku, I don't think you should go and see Turtle - he spends almost all his time on that island," Pu'ar observed nervously.  
"It'll be fine! The island is uninhabited!" Goku waved her off, and swam higher still.  
Turtle, one of the largest sea turtles in the ocean, was sunning himself on the beach of his little island when Goku and Pu'ar emerged from the water. Turtle smiled at them and waved a flipper in welcome.  
"Hey, there, Goku! What are you doing surface-side again? You're going to get in trouble," Turtle greeted him.  
"I'll only be here a minute, Turtle, and no one knows I'm here except Pu'ar. I was hoping you could tell me what these are," Goku said as he raised the jar and dagger out of the water and placed them in front of Turtle.  
"We found them in a sunken ship," Pu'ar added, figuring she might as well join in the conversation.  
"Human things again, huh? Aren't you afraid of being caught with this stuff?" Turtle asked as he looked at what Goku had brought him.  
"I'm careful," Goku answered, starting to get a little annoyed. "So, what are they?"  
"Well, this is a jar," said Turtle, pointing with one flipper to the dark purple jar. "Humans use them to store things. This one is pretty small; I don't know what it might've held. And this," he motioned to the dagger, "is a man-made weapon called a dagger. Humans use them in battles." Suddenly, Goku's entire face blanched with terror.  
"Battles?! The Exhibition! I forgot about the Exhibition!!" Goku cried in alarm.  
"That's right!! Today's the day for it!" Pu'ar squeaked.  
"Between the sharks and the ship. . .! I'm sorry, Turtle, but I've got to go!" Goku quickly gathered up the human things and dove back into the water with Pu'ar a little ahead of him. "I can't believe I forgot! I've been looking forward to the Exhibition all year! I even left the palace early to practice for it! How could it have slipped my mind like that?! Now I'll be lucky if I live to see the next one!" Goku grumbled angrily to himself as they rapidly swam back to the palace. He was so worried about the punishment he was about to receive from his father that he failed to notice he was being watched by two pinkish eels; and what the eels saw through their beady eyes was shown to their master.  
"Yes, that's right, Prince-y. Hurry on home; you don't want to miss Daddy's barbaric little show, do you?" grumbled the master of the eels, the Sea Wizard Babidi. He watched Goku's frantic progress with a large bubble that was filled with the image of the youngest sea prince swimming home. "Such nonsense. We had fantastic competitions in magic when I lived in the palace. But I've been exiled by the king, so I suppose my opinions don't matter anymore," Babidi scowled, then smiled evilly. "Even so...Dabura, Buu, I want you both to keep a close eye on him. This willful young merman may just help me bring an end to the reign of King Vegeta."  
  
Pu'ar floated around the corner as King Vegeta chewed out his youngest son. He'd been yelling for several minutes, and Goku was barely holding up under his father's heated reprimand. His brothers had wisely chosen to stay out of the way, but Piccolo was helping the king scold the prince.  
"What were you thinking?! You've made all of Vegetasei lose face before those pompous Kold fools! They think you ran away in fear, and that's what they'll be telling everyone!" King Vegeta bellowed at Goku.  
"I'm sorry, Father! I didn't mean to be late! I - " Goku started to explain.  
"Then what did you mean, huh?" Piccolo snapped. "You've shamed all of us by not appearing! You should have heard them laughing at us!"  
"I just left the palace early to practice a little, and..." Goku tried again.  
"And what?! You lost track of time?! Didn't you hear the fighting?!" King Vegeta barked. "Do you have any idea how much honor I lost today because of you?!"  
"It wasn't all his fault!" Pu'ar shouted as she whipped around the corner, unable to take it any longer. The King and Piccolo glared at the catfish with death in their eyes. "He-he was ambushed by a whole bunch of sharks! You can see the wound on his tail y-yourself!" Pu'ar quavered a little under their combined glares, but didn't back down. King Vegeta and Piccolo looked at the seaweed wrapped around Goku's tail. He quickly undid it to show the teeth marks on his tail. "A-and when he got away from them, this big turtle showed up, and it was 'this is that and that is this' and..."  
  
"Big turtle?" King Vegeta cut her off, and Pu'ar's eyes bugged as she shrank back away from him. "Not that turtle that lives on the island?"  
"N-no, of course not. . ." Goku stammered.  
"You went to the surface again?!" King Vegeta roared again. Goku cringed in response.  
"Nothing happened! Turtle lives alone and the island is in the middle of nowhere!" Goku pleaded.  
"Goku, how many times must I say this?! No one is to go to the surface unless there's a damn good reason for it! If I can't make one of my own sons obey the law, how can I expect anyone else to?! And what if a ship had been passing by?! You think I want my youngest son caught by those creatures, those. . .those. . .humans?! Don't you understand the danger at all?!" King Vegeta's furious voice practically made the palace shake. "You will obey my laws, and I'm never to hear of you going to the surface again! Do you understand?!" Goku straightened up as much as he could and nodded.  
"Yes, Father, I do," he said stiffly, and then swam away from the throne room as fast as he could. Pu'ar followed right behind him. King Vegeta sat down heavily on his giant shell throne and rested his head in one hand.  
"That boy!" he sighed.  
"Unbelievable. What was he thinking?" Piccolo grumbled under his breath, still mad.  
"Why does he have to defy me like this?" King Vegeta said quietly. "I only want what's best for all of them."  
"Of course, Your Majesty. But Goku is eighteen; it's a rebellious age," Piccolo comforted the king. "If he was my son, I'd keep him under tight control. No more of this going to the surface nonsense," he advised. King Vegeta perked up.  
"Yes, you're absolutely right, Piccolo - someone needs to watch him closely; to make sure he keeps in line," King Vegeta nodded.  
"That's what I'd do," Piccolo agreed.  
"Good, because that is exactly what you're going to do!" King Vegeta declared. Piccolo's eyes widened and his antennae drooped a little.  
"Your Majesty. . .?"  
"You are going to follow Goku and make sure that he behaves!" said the king. "Now, get moving!" Piccolo opened his mouth to argue; then snapped it shut and left.  
  
"Grrr, this is unbelievable! I should be teaching combat moves and monitoring spars, not babysitting a disobedient prince!" Piccolo growled to himself as he searched for Goku. He was very unhappy with this situation; it wasn't his kind of thing at all. Besides, he wasn't sure where the youngest prince went after leaving the throne room. As luck would have it, however, he spotted the boy floating outside one of the palace windows. Piccolo watched as Pu'ar handed him something, and they both swam off, away from the palace. Piccolo frowned deeply. "What is he doing now? He must have more brains than to go and break another rule now," he muttered to himself, and followed them.  
The two led him well away from the palace and the city around it, and off into a wild area. Piccolo watched from a distance as Goku came up to a rock wall and shoved aside a large boulder leaning on it, revealing a cave mouth. The prince and Pu'ar swam in, and the boulder began moving back into place. Piccolo swam for it, but the boulder closed on the tip of his tail. He barely kept the scream of pain in, though it felt like it might burst out his eyeballs if he didn't let it out of his mouth. With a few hard tugs he pulled himself free and found, to his great relief, that his tail wasn't as badly hurt as it felt. He went a little deeper into the cave quietly cursing Goku and then froze with shock. He was inside a very large cavern, with a hole in the ceiling to let in sunlight on the upper part of the cavern. The sunlight was slanted, indicating that the sun was setting. It was very dark where Piccolo was standing on the floor of the cavern, but he could still see clearly. The jagged walls of the cavern were being used as shelves, and were full of collected human objects. Goku was near the top of the cavern, placing the jar and dagger in places where the light could catch them and make them glint. His shoulders were sagging and his eyes were full of sadness and disappointment. Placed in the sunniest spot of the cavern was the painting, which Goku had found those weeks before.  
"Are you okay, Goku? I'm sorry about mentioning Turtle," Pu'ar said gently, not wanting her friend to be angry with her.  
"It's all right, Pu'ar. I just don't understand why Father has to be like that. Look at all these things the humans make. Can they really be all that bad?" Goku sighed deeply and turned to gaze once more at the painting. He had all but memorized it since he'd found it; she was so beautiful, and looked almost alive. He was sure this image was based on a real person, though he had no idea who. Then he sighed again and turned back to Pu'ar as he began to drift back down toward the cavern's floor. "I wish he'd try to understand."  
"He has his reasons, you know," Pu'ar pointed out.  
"I know he does," Goku nodded as he rested against a raised bit of stone on the cavern floor, watching the faint glint of sunlight far above. "But the sea is filled with human things; why forbid us to look at them and see what they are?" Pu'ar had no ready answer for that, so she just hemmed and hawed a bit before falling silent. Goku watched the far-off light quietly for a few moments, and then began to hum very softly to raise his spirits. He never told anyone, but he often sang to cheer himself up, and Pu'ar often told him he had one of the best voices under the sea. The hum rose into a vocalization, which filled the cavern and rang off its walls. Piccolo was stunned; he hadn't known Goku could sing. The soft, wordless tune continued for a while, and finally Piccolo decided it was time to have a word with the prince. He walked right up to him as he finished a particularly long and sweet note.  
"Ahem," the green lobster cleared his throat, and Goku and Pu'ar jumped.  
"Piccolo! What are you doing here?!" Goku asked in a near-panic.  
"I followed you. Care to explain this place?" Piccolo answered gruffly, motioning to the cavern walls.  
"This. . .this is. . .my collection," Goku admitted.  
"Your 'collection'," Piccolo echoed, scowling. "If your father knew you were collecting human things. . .!"  
"You won't tell him, will you?!" Pu'ar moved in close to the lobster.  
"He'll kill me! You can't tell him anything, Piccolo! I order you as your Prince!" Goku said quickly.  
"And he ordered me as my King to keep you in line," Piccolo answered. "However, I might be willing to over look this blatant infraction, if you seal this place up and never come back."  
"But-!" Goku started to object, but the conversation came to an abrupt halt as something blocked out the sunlight. "What is that?" Goku said, looking at the dark shape through the hole in the ceiling. Without thinking twice, he swam up to investigate. Pu'ar hesitated for a moment, and then went after him.  
"Hey, come back here!" Piccolo barked, and swam after both of them.  
A few moments later, Goku broke the surface of the water to watch a large schooner floating by. The sun was sinking slowly into the west as clouds built in the sky, and the lively sound of music was drifting over the waters from the ship.  
"Goku, get back beneath those waves this instant! Your father told you - !" Piccolo popped up in front of him, then turned to see what he was staring at. The human ship bobbed close by, and Piccolo gasped. "Dive down now! Hurry, before they see us!" Goku ignored him and carefully swam closer. Piccolo grabbed his tail with his claws and tried to drag him back, but the merman just gave his tail a flip and sent the lobster flying backwards across the way. Pu'ar stayed where she was, too afraid to get any closer.  
Goku pulled himself up the side of the ship to look on the deck. There was a party going on, and some sailors were dancing while others played instruments. Goku was watching the proceedings with great interest, when he saw two women in the center of the dancing sailors. Both were very beautiful, but only one held his attention. He could scarcely believe it; it was the woman from the painting! She was smiling brightly, and dancing gracefully on her long legs as her shining black hair bounced and flew around her shoulders. She was wearing a dark blue dress with a tight top, a wide collar and full sleeves, and a loose skirt that she held up with one hand to keep from tripping on it as she spun about. Her skin was flushed from the dancing, and Goku felt that he had never seen anything so lovely. Her pretty companion, who had hair as blue as early morning skies and eyes the color of the deep sea, was dancing close by, and then stopped and clapped her hands for attention. A white Persian cat sat nearby, twitching its tail happily.  
"All right, everyone!" the blue haired woman called out, and the music and dancing stopped. "We all know today is our dear Princess Chi- Chi's 18th birthday, and we're here to celebrate..." she began, and the sailors raised a cheer. "...And as soon as the sky is dark enough, we will have a fireworks display!" The sailors not previously aware of this, as well as the dark-haired princess, let out another cheer.  
"Lady Bulma, this has been a wonderful birthday!" Chi-Chi said, smiling.  
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Princess. Most princesses would've wanted their party in a ballroom with lots of nobles," Bulma smiled mischievously at her Princess.  
"I prefer the open air and the sea to a ballroom full of pretentious nobles," Chi-Chi answered. "Especially stuffy nobles who would spend the entire evening introducing me to their sons and trying to tell me how wonderful they are; such prime marrying material!"  
"No kidding," Bulma chuckled. "Most of them still haven't forgiven you for not marrying that prince from the Shuga Kingdom."  
"I will decide when I will marry and with whom I see fit," Chi- Chi gave a firm nod of her head. Goku was also nodding in agreement, though no one saw him. He continued to watch the party, and most of all Princess Chi-Chi, for a long time, and when the sky darkened completely and the fireworks began, he watched the bright explosions of color in absolute wonder, hardly noticing that they were lighting up a sky laden with dark clouds. Listening to the conversations, he had learned lots of little things about Chi-Chi, including where her kingdom was, and that the painting he had found was a birthday present for her that was sent across the sea to have a special frame put on it, and was lost in a storm during its return. The white cat walked up to him at one point, sniffing at him curiously, but was called back with "Korin! Here kitty!" before he could be noticed. Goku felt like he could sit there and listen to her voice and look at her beautiful face forever. It was very late and the party was just starting to finally break up when a crack of thunder tore through the night.  
The steady wind that had been building since the sun had set began to get even stronger, and the ship started tilting as lightning flashed and raindrops began to fall. The sailors started pulling in the sails and trying to direct the ship home, when the rain began pouring and the wind howling. The sailors cried out in shock at the sudden violence of the storm, and Princess Chi-Chi and Lady Bulma strove to keep their feet planted on the pitching deck. Goku clung to the side of the ship desperately, only to be thrown off at last as a huge wave struck the ship. He was sent beneath the waves but swam back up again; Piccolo was diving for safety, thinking Goku was behind him. A bolt of lightning suddenly leapt down from the sky and struck the crate holding the fireworks. A second later, they exploded, setting the ship ablaze. The humans began scrambling for the lifeboats, when a rigging pulley, let lose by the fire, fell down and struck Princess Chi-Chi across her head. It was only a glancing blow, but it was enough to send her into the water, unconscious. The sailors and Bulma yelled for her, but couldn't get to her. Goku gasped and swam after her, remembering how his older brothers had told him humans couldn't breathe underwater. Chi-Chi was sinking deeper into the ocean, dragged down by the sodden weight of her dark blue dress. Goku grasped her about her waist and chest and pulled her back to the surface. He swam away from the sinking ship, carefully holding Chi-Chi's head above the water.  
Eventually, he managed to bring her to a beach. He pulled them both up past the shallow breakers and laid her out carefully onto the drier sand. She was soaked and shivering in the cool air, and Goku didn't know what to do. Because his skin was naturally cool from living in the water, he could offer her little warmth. She shivered more and coughed; instinctively curling up in her unconscious state to preserve what little body warmth she had left.  
"Hey, Goku, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice said, and Goku turned to see Turtle waddling up the beach to them. "What are you doing with a human girl?" Goku told him everything, finishing with his concern about her movements. When asked why he was here instead of his island, Turtle explained that he'd been having a nice swim when the storm came up, and was carried here by the strong current.  
"She's cold, right? That's why she's shaking like that?" Goku asked urgently, and Turtle nodded.  
"Rub her skin with your hands to make some warmth. The sun has already risen, and that will help warm her up nicely," Turtle instructed, and Goku glanced at the sky. He hadn't realized he'd been swimming through the storm all night. It did explain why he felt so tired, though. He did like Turtle said, rubbing her arms and legs to coax a little warmth as the sun climbed higher and the air grew warmer, all the while speaking to her comfortingly. Goku stopped rubbing as the air and sand starting getting hot, and tenderly brushed her wet hair out of her face with his fingertips. She had stopped shivering and her breathing became deep and normal. He quietly admired her face, his mind filled with her voice and all he had seen her do on the ship before it sank. She began to stir a little as Goku continued to gaze adoringly at her, and the tide brought Piccolo and Pu'ar to the shore.  
"She's so beautiful," he sighed. "Chi-Chi," he let the word roll through his mouth, savoring the sound of it. Piccolo was relieved to find the Prince unharmed, but was then hit with a level of shock and horror he had never before experienced as he saw the young Prince gently tending to the human girl on the beach. Goku began singing softly to soothe her as her eyes began to bat open. She could see a handsome face above her, haloed by the bright sunlight, which made it a little hard to see clearly, and heard a sweet, male tenor singing above her as a soft-but-strong hand caressed her cheek. Suddenly, Chi-Chi's white cat, Korin, came running up to her.  
"Princess Chi-Chi!!" Bulma's worried voice was heard echoing from somewhere up the beach. Goku abruptly jerked away and dove back into the water as Chi-Chi struggled to sit up. Korin meowed at his mistress happily. "Chi-Chi, I can't believe it! You're alive! And to think you'd wash up right below your own palace! Thank Kami!" Bulma said as she knelt at her friend's side and tried to help her up. Korin meowed questioningly as a familiar scent hit his nostrils and looked out at the water.  
"B-Bulma?" Chi-Chi said, looking at her. Then she looked dazedly around at the otherwise empty beach. "Where is he?" she asked.  
"He? He who?" Bulma blinked in surprise as she assisted an unsteady Chi-Chi onto her feet.  
"The man who saved me...he was leaning over me a moment go, he said something...and then he sang! He had a wonderful voice! Where is he?" Chi- Chi asked, and tried to step away from Bulma - only to nearly fall over again. Bulma caught her before she could go all the way down.  
"We need to look at your head, because it must've been hit pretty hard. The only thing on this beach I saw besides you was a giant sea turtle heading back into the waves," Bulma answered gently as she led her away, Korin trailing just behind them. "Not to mention swallowing all that sea water is very bad for you." Goku watched in silence from behind a large rock in the water as they went, his heart pounding; but not from fear.  
"All right, we're never speaking of this again, understood? No one needs to know about this; it never happened, got it?" Piccolo said firmly to Goku, who wasn't paying a bit of attention to him. He watched Princess Chi-Chi as Bulma guided her up the beach and onto the grass beyond, straining his ears to hear what they were talking about, even though they were already well out of his earshot. He swore to himself in secret as he headed back into the water that he would come back to this place as often as he could to try and catch a glimpse of her.  
  
"Oh, you must be kidding! This is much too good! How much easier could he have made it for me?! The boy is in love with a human girl! And a princess, at that!" Babidi cackled loudly as he watched the images in his bubble. "His father will blow his top! Yes, indeed...King Vegeta's youngest son will be most valuable to me!" the evil sea wizard grinned to himself as he continued to laugh.  
  
In the weeks that followed, Goku carefully planned out the best times for him to 'disappear' for a while to catch sight of Princess Chi-Chi. He knew he had to be very discreet about his trips, or he would draw attention to his whereabouts, and get into the worst trouble of his life. He also had to plan out more and more ways to ditch Piccolo, who was bound and determined to keep his charge beneath the sea at all times. He managed to throw Piccolo off his guard for a bit by making it appear as if he'd sealed up his treasure grotto, but a few days later the lobster realized that the top of the grotto, which was big enough for Goku to swim through, was still wide open. Pu'ar, being far too nervous to go with him to the surface beneath the palace, did her best to keep everyone from asking where he went when he made his trips.  
Even with all of the obstacles posed by his brothers, father, and would-be guard, he found many opportunities to swim to Chi-Chi's castle and watch for her from behind his rock. He had discovered, much to his joy, that Princess Chi-Chi and Lady Bulma went for a walk on the beach nearly every day at the same time to talk privately. He did everything in his power to be there at that particular time of day, and he learned much about the Princess by listening to their talks. One day, shortly after he figured out their daily routine, he was observing them when he saw Chi-Chi suddenly stop and pick something up out of the sand. It was a small seashell, pale red in color, and nothing overly special in his eyes, but Princess Chi-Chi was clearly delighted with her find, and carefully pocketed it. He continued to watch in surprise as she searched all around for more shells, taking the ones she liked best. He saw her do this on several occasions during her walks with Bulma, and couldn't help but smile and laugh.  
"She collects objects from the sea the same way I collect things from the land!" Goku said to himself as he watched her take her shoes off to wade into the surf to retrieve a particularly shiny white-pink shell.  
"You know, Bulma," Chi-Chi suddenly spoke, and Goku instantly fell silent. "It's too bad the prettiest shells never wash up on shore. I've seen some truly beautiful ones in the deeper parts of the sea while sailing. They were on rocks under the water, of course, but none of them ever get washed up on the beach."  
"I know what you mean," Bulma nodded. She didn't collect seashells the way Chi-Chi did, but she did appreciate their natural beauty, and she had seen some nice ones way out at sea as well. Goku listened intently, and his mind seized upon a wonderfully inspired idea of pleasing Chi-Chi.  
The next day, he arrived quite early at the beach outside Chi-Chi's palace, and pulled himself up onto the sand just above the normal tide line. In one arm, he held five seashells, some of the best he could find in the sea. They were all well shaped, brightly colored, good sized, and empty, and he arranged the five in a careful circle on the sand where he knew Chi-Chi would find them. He had thought of just strewing them randomly on the beach beyond the reach of the tide, but he wanted her to realize they were placed there as a gift, and not by random chance. Besides, the high tide could easily wash them out to sea again if they were placed within its reach. As soon as he had the shells placed just right, he pushed himself back down the beach and into the water. He had sand stuck under some of his scales, but it was well worth the effort when Chi- Chi and Bulma arrived and Chi-Chi discovered her present. Her face lit up in surprise at the sight of the encircled shells, and a moment later she was searching the beach in all directions.  
"What are you looking for, Princess?" Bulma asked.  
"Footprints," Chi-Chi answered. "Someone put these here for me to find, I know it! This spot is well above the highest point the tide reaches, and they were in a perfect circle. Someone put them here...maybe it was the man who saved me!" Her breathing was quickened with excitement by this find; it just had to be the man who saved her! She still didn't understand why he had run away before he could be thanked, but she wanted very badly to find him. At night, she still heard his wonderful voice in her head, singing so sweetly for her.  
"Princess. . ." Bulma said slowly, for she was still very skeptical that there had actually been a man, but Chi-Chi was quite certain there had been, and was determined to find him. Goku watched them both from behind his rock, elated at Chi-Chi's reaction to his gift, and wishing all the more that he could call out to her and let her know he was there.  
After that, he made it a point to find some exceptionally pretty seashells to take to the beach and leave for her to find, each time leaving them in the exact same spot in the exact same pattern. Bulma's doubts about someone leaving the shells on purpose were driven away very quickly, and Chi-Chi became all the more certain her mysterious savior was behind it. They started arriving at the beach earlier in hopes of catching him in the act, but never succeeded. If they arrived too early, Goku couldn't leave any seashells behind, and all concerned had to go through the rest of the day disappointed. Then things got more complicated.  
Goku had slipped off to go to Chi-Chi's palace again, some truly nice seashells in his hands, when his oldest brother spotted him. Vegeta watched with curiosity as Goku swam off in a direction that, to Vegeta's knowledge, held nothing of great interest, and then decided to tail his brother. He quickly summoned the rest of their brothers, and they came upon Goku before he got too far. Goku was so focused on his trip that he didn't notice he was being followed.  
"Where do you think he's going?" Raditz asked quietly as they swam a short distance behind their youngest brother.  
"Got me; there's nothing much around here. And why is he going so high?" Krillin answered.  
"Now that I think about it, he's been disappearing a lot lately, hasn't he?" Tien observed.  
"Yes, he has," Yamcha nodded.  
"He leaves and returns, and never gives a clear answer as to where he went," Vegeta agreed. "Maybe now we'll know." Pu'ar suddenly popped up right in front of Vegeta's face, bringing him to an abrupt halt. The others paused in turn and looked at the catfish in annoyance.  
"Where are all of you going?" Pu'ar asked innocently.  
"After Goku," Vegeta answered, and tried to move around her. She quickly maneuvered back in front of him.  
"Why? He's just going exploring," she said, trying to throw them off their mission.  
"Then he won't mind company," Yamcha said, and they all started moving again. Pu'ar again zipped in front of them, blocking their progress.  
"He wants to prove he can do things on his own!" she said quickly.  
"That's ridiculous! He doesn't have to prove anything! Least of all in as empty an area as this!" Tien said.  
"You're hiding something," Vegeta observed. "Where's he really going?" Pu'ar struggled to find a ready answer, but couldn't come up with anything. Vegeta snorted and moved past her, as did the others. They caught up with Goku a few moments later. He was already swimming rather high, and continued to climb higher still, and they started getting uneasy. It was one thing to look around in sunken human ships, but going up to the surface was another matter entirely. They watched as the ground rose ever higher as well, indicating a shoreline. Goku rose higher and higher, until they realized he intended to break the surface, and was going to do so near land. For his brothers, that was the final straw, and they picked up the pace to overtake him. A second later, however, and he was half out of the water; another second later, and he pulled himself completely out of the water. The other six Sea Princes froze, unable to comprehend what they'd just seen. After a few moments' time, Goku returned to the water, only to immediately pull himself up to his customary post on the rock. His brothers bolted for it, intent on tearing him down from there and dragging him back home, where it was safe. They hesitated a moment right below the surface, then popped through. Goku was sitting on his rock, his entire focus on the beach, unaware of his brothers' presence right behind him. Vegeta moved first; he climbed up behind Goku and grabbed his shoulder, making his youngest brother startle.  
"GAH!" The cry flew out from Goku's mouth before he could stop it, and he whipped his head around to see Vegeta. His eyes bugged out and he felt his heart stop. "V-Vegeta! What are you doing here?" he stuttered nervously.  
"I was going to ask you that! We followed you here!" Vegeta growled lowly. "What in Kami's name are you thinking being this close to the shore?"  
"We?!" Goku repeated, and looked down past the end of his tail to see the rest of his brothers gathered at the base of the rock. "Oh, Kami. . .you can't tell Father about this!"  
"Answer my question! Why are you here?!" Vegeta demanded again, and Goku began to sweat.  
"I. . .I. . ." he swallowed. Vegeta scowled and grabbed his arm to pull him back down into the water.  
"We're going home, Goku! You can explain on the way!" Vegeta said in his most commanding voice, and normally Goku would've obeyed if he didn't know Chi-Chi would be there at any moment. He grasped the rock tightly with his free hand as Vegeta tugged his other arm harder. "Come down from there!" his older brother hissed, and then saw movement on the beach. He flattened himself against the rock, pressing himself closer to Goku. The other five mermen immediately ducked back underwater. "We have to get out of here before we're seen! Father will filet us as it is!" Vegeta whispered urgently.  
"In a minute!" Goku answered, his eyes trained on the beach as Princess Chi-Chi and Lady Bulma came strolling arm-in-arm down the sandy shore. Vegeta, wondering what was causing his brother to behave so oddly, followed his line of sight - and found himself looking at a human woman with hair as blue as the sky and eyes the color of the deepest sea.  
"You're watching human women?" he asked, his voice revealing his surprise.  
"Please don't tell Father," Goku begged again. "I just can't help it...she's so beautiful; and smart, and kind, and strong...I've been listening to their conversations. We think a lot alike, too. . ."  
"Their conversations. . .?" Vegeta repeated, not yet noticing Princess Chi-Chi. He finally tore his eyes from the blue-haired beauty long enough to acknowledge that she wasn't alone. Chi-Chi then found the newest seashells Goku had left for her, and smiled as she gathered them up.  
"Where can he be finding these shells?" Chi-Chi asked the air.  
"I really don't know," Bulma admitted. "Frankly, I'd just like to know who he is and why he won't show himself." Vegeta blinked, then turned to look at Goku.  
"You left those there," he said. He felt the tiniest pang of relief that Goku's interest was in the black-haired one and not the blue-haired one, but he didn't show it.  
"Yeah," Goku nodded, a blush crossing his face as he returned his gaze to Chi-Chi. Vegeta stared at him long and hard for several moments, trying to comprehend what was going on in his brother's mind. The realization hit him like a tidal wave.  
"You're in love with her?!" Vegeta snapped, a little louder than he'd intended.  
"Did you hear something?" Bulma turned her head toward the rock, momentarily catching glimpses of the tip of Vegeta's blue tail and the tip of his upswept black hair, which stood straight up even when he was out of the water. The moment was all-to-fleeting and she couldn't be certain that she'd seen anything at all.  
"I thought I did..." Chi-Chi also looked around, but didn't see a thing. The mermen flattened themselves against the back of the rock, pressed close enough together to keep anything of themselves from showing around the rock. They gave each other death-glares and very quietly growled threats, but didn't dare move. "Is someone there?" Chi-Chi called out. After several long moments with no response coming forth from anywhere, Chi-Chi sighed with disappointment. "Maybe it was the cry from some kind of seabird," she said, and the two friends moved on. Once they were well down the beach, Goku and Vegeta dove back into the ocean. Their brothers were a short way beneath them and they all swam away from the beach.  
"Way to go! You almost got us caught!" Goku half-yelled at him as they swam home.  
"We wouldn't have been in a position to be caught if you hadn't gone there in the first place!" Vegeta barked in return.  
"I didn't ask you to come with me! I've never been almost-caught before. . ." Goku started defensively, and then backed off, realizing he'd said too much.  
"What?! How many times have you been here?!" Raditz demanded.  
"I. . ." Goku swallowed, then stopped and hung in the water. "A lot," he admitted.  
"Then. . .you really are in love with that human, aren't you?" Vegeta asked slowly.  
"He's what?!" the others jumped. Goku looked at them all levelly, refusing to be ashamed of his feelings.  
"So what if I am?" he answered angrily, swimming ahead of them. They quickly caught up to him again.  
"Brother, do you realize how insane this sounds? You can't possibly be. . ." Raditz began.  
"I know it's hopeless! I don't care! I can't change how I feel!" Goku cut him off.  
"Goku, you have to try! Nothing good can come from being in love with a human!" Krillin said, worried.  
"Not to mention the law! If Father were to find out that not only were you going to the surface, but were actually enamored with a human. . .there's no telling what he'd do!" Juuna argued.  
"Which is why none of you ought to tell him!" Goku said. "If only so I can keep my tail from being chewed off!"  
"Please, listen to reason, Goku! We only want you to be safe!" Tien added. But no matter how his brothers entreated him, Goku would not be swayed from his path. He continued his daily visits, now made more difficult by the necessity of evading his brothers' increased scrutiny as well as Piccolo; although occasionally, Vegeta would accompany him to gaze at Bulma. As he watched the object of his affection, Goku often envisioned Chi-Chi as a beautiful mermaid, her tail long and red (it had taken him some time to decide on the color that best suited her), with her dark hair loose and swirling in the waves. In his mind, he pictured the two of them swimming hand-in-hand with all of their children happily circling around them. Though every time Chi-Chi lifted her skirt for whatever reason, that lovingly made dream-bubble would burst apart as he saw her human legs. It was further shattered one day when Chi-Chi came walking down the beach, not in the company of her friend Bulma, but with a young human man. As they spoke casually, it became apparent to the merman that this person was a suitor, and Goku felt his stomach drop like lead into his tail. She was polite to her companion, but it was obvious there was no interest on her side. For the next two weeks, Goku saw her there with three different men; each one doing all they could to impress her, only to find her politely distant. When Bulma finally rejoined her on her daily strolls, Goku almost felt weak with relief. Unfortunately, on that same day, Piccolo managed to find him again and kept trying to get him back in the water.  
"Princess, you know that you must soon chose a husband from the presented suitors," Bulma said, and Goku felt his heart clench. "Since you are the only child of the King, it is required of you to be married in order to ascend to the throne."  
"I'm in no hurry to rule," Chi-Chi answered shortly. "Or to marry, for that matter. I'm sure that they're all nice boys, but I am also quite sure that they really don't care about me; they only care about my throne and the prestige that comes with it. Oh, Bulma, I want. . .I want a man who loves me for me, and doesn't care that I'm a Princess!"  
"Yeah, right, like that'll happen," Bulma replied. Chi-Chi sighed, and hung her head. "Look, I'm sure you can find someone who will love you, all of you, but he will have to face the fact that you're a Princess. Besides, you have to marry someone of royal, or at least noble, blood."  
"I know that! I'm not asking for a peasant! I just don't want the fact that I'm a Princess and next in line for the throne to be the main reason he wants to marry me!" Chi-Chi snapped in annoyance.  
"There's no need to be angry with me!" Bulma snapped in return, and the two women flew into a brief-but-loud argument. Goku sat behind his rock, half-chuckling to himself.  
"That's quite a temper she has...I'll have to be careful not to incite it too often," he said to himself. He no longer bothered denying it to himself; he knew he wanted Chi-Chi for his wife, not because she was a Princess, but simply because he loved her with all his heart and soul. He also knew now that she could never become a mermaid and live with him beneath the sea, not if she was the only child of their King. Her people needed her to rule their land kingdom. His happy picture of them swimming side by side, surrounded by their little ones, faded for a brief moment, and radically changed as it came back. "I've gone about this the wrong way," Goku said loud enough for Piccolo to hear. "I shouldn't be wishing she had a tail!"  
"Well, I'm glad to hear you coming back to your senses! Now, let's go back to the palace and forget this insanity ever happened!" Piccolo said, slightly relieved at the seeming change in the Prince's attitude. Goku gave him a half smile and then looked at his own fish tail, his orange scales sparkling in the sunlight, the ring of seashells around the top of his fin glinting wetly.  
"I shouldn't be wishing she had a tail," he repeated as he slid off the rock and back into the water. "I wish that I had legs!" His revised mental picture had him with human legs, walking beside Chi-Chi on the beach with their children walking and running around them. Horrified, Piccolo froze where he stood on the rock.  
"Why don't you throw me into a boiling pot while you're at it?! It'd be more merciful than what your father will do to me if he hears you say that!!" Piccolo yelled after Goku as he dove back into the surf.  
  
"Oh, yes," Babidi grinned widely as he heard the Prince speak aloud his heart's desire. "Our little fish is now ready to be reeled in."  
  
Goku's strange behavior hadn't gone unnoticed by his father, the Sea King. He'd become aware of his youngest son going off on his own for a short while every day, and the far-off look he wore most of the time after he returned. He was growing suspicious as to the cause, and was becoming increasingly vexed by Goku's secretiveness.  
"Something is going on with that youngest son of mine," King Vegeta said to the head of the guards, Nappa, who was a big, bald merman with a thin mustache and a black tail.  
"He has been acting odd," Nappa agreed. "Why, if I didn't know better, I'd think..." he trailed off.  
"Think what?" King Vegeta pressed, half-hoping to hear his own suspicions verified by another.  
"That he was in love," Nappa finished. King Vegeta nodded.  
"I've been thinking the same thing," he said.  
"It's quite possible..." Nappa rubbed his chin.  
"If he is, it could be a blessing," King Vegeta began to smile. "That boy would have to settle down a little, and he'd surely want to stay by her, under the water." He still suspected his son longed to go to the surface, but he had faith that Piccolo would keep him where he rightly belonged.  
"Don't you have that lobster keeping an eye on him?" Nappa asked lightly.  
"Yes, I do. I think I'll have a little talk with him," King Vegeta answered.  
  
Piccolo paced about nervously on the ocean floor while Goku performed a kata above him. Goku wasn't thinking about the moves, but then again, he didn't really need to. He was thinking of Princess Chi-Chi, as was Piccolo, although Goku's thoughts were far happier than the lobster's.  
"Okay, we're doing pretty good so far; King Vegeta doesn't know a thing. But you have to stop disappearing in the middle of the day before he gets suspicious," Piccolo warned.  
"I can't help it if that's when Chi-Chi and Bulma take their walks," Goku answered curtly. "If only I could get her attention safely. . .maybe if Pu'ar splashed around. . ."  
"Will you forget this insanity?! Pull your head back down here in the deep where it's supposed to be! You are a Prince of the Sea! You have responsibilities...!"  
"I'm the youngest of seven Sea Princes, Piccolo! I'm never getting the throne, so why even think about it?" Goku retorted shortly. Piccolo began to bristle.  
"Why think about. . .?! Just because you may not rule this kingdom doesn't mean you can't rule another! King Vegeta has been working on arranging marriages for all of you that will work to the best advantage of our kingdom as a whole! You need to work on your lessons to prepare yourself for this eventuality! I'm sure it won't be long before he chooses a suitable Sea Princess for you; a nice, lovely mermaid that will make you happy and keep you down here..." Piccolo was in full lecture mode, pacing back and forth, and not really looking at his charge. Goku left about a third of the way into Piccolo's speech, the moment he noticed Pu'ar signaling him over. They swam off together as Piccolo continued talking, and were out of sight by the time he looked back to where Goku had been. "...best under the sea! Do you understand, Goku? Goku?" Piccolo looked around in surprise and then groaned. "That boy!" he gritted his teeth and suppressed a scream of rage. That boy was going to be the death of him!  
"Piccolo? Piccolo! Ah, there you are!" a voice cut through the waves and Piccolo looked up to see the King's messenger, Mr. Popo, swimming up to him. Piccolo looked at him warily.  
"Yes, can I help you?" Piccolo asked carefully.  
"I have an important message for you from King Vegeta," Mr. Popo smiled benignly, but Piccolo was starting to sweat. "He wants to see you right away; to talk about his son, Goku." Piccolo swallowed and nodded, and Mr. Popo swam off, his errand done. Piccolo felt one eye twitch.  
"About Goku? Why would he want to talk about Goku, unless...he knows?!" Piccolo wasn't sure what to think. As far as he knew, the King didn't know or have any reason to suspect anything; but then again, he could easily be very wrong. Piccolo slowly swam back to the palace, trying to think of excuses for himself and Goku, but none of them sounded plausible enough.  
  
King Vegeta sat on his giant seashell throne happily wondering with who his youngest son might be in love. He figured she couldn't be a princess, since Goku hadn't traveled beyond their kingdom since he was small. They'd had no recent guests except for the Kolds, and they'd brought no females with them. Since Goku was the youngest, King Vegeta had already decided to let him marry the girl even if she was a commoner if he truly wished too; it would be no great loss in the long run. If his boy was happy and behaving himself, he'd have no qualms about his choice for a bride. Piccolo walked into the throne room slowly, holding himself up high. He'd finally decided to act as though nothing was wrong. Hopefully, this meeting was just to check up on Goku's behavior of late.  
"You summoned me, Your Majesty?" Piccolo said calmly, as though nothing could possibly be wrong.  
"Yes, Piccolo. Come here," King Vegeta waved him closer, and he came up to the foot of the throne. "I've been noticing lately that Goku is acting a little oddly."  
"Oddly?" Piccolo echoed.  
"Yes. Absent-minded, disappearing from time to time, going around like he was in a dream...you have noticed, haven't you?" King Vegeta arched an eyebrow, and Piccolo swallowed deeply.  
"Well, yes, but..."  
"Piccolo," King Vegeta grinned, "who is she?"  
"She?" Piccolo felt a shiver go down his back.  
  
"She," King Vegeta repeated. "The woman Goku is in love with."  
  
"I-I-I-" Piccolo stuttered out. He wasn't normally the nervous sort, but with impending death staring him in the face, he couldn't help it. Finally, he got the wild idea that coming completely clean might save him. "I tried to stop him again and again! I tried to keep him away from the surface! I tried to tell him nothing good could come from humans..."  
"Humans?" King Vegeta cut him short, and Piccolo realized he'd made a horrific mistake. "What do humans have to do with this?!" he bellowed, and Piccolo began retreating quickly on his hind legs.  
"Humans? I didn't say anything about..." Piccolo squawked, but King Vegeta grabbed him just under his head and cut off his denial.  
  
"So what's the problem, Pu'ar?" Goku asked as Pu'ar led him into his treasure grotto by the top.  
"It's just awful, Goku! I realized it when I came in here a little bit ago," Pu'ar squeaked, and then pointed. "Look! The ocean water is ruining it!" Goku stared in horror at his most valuable treasure, the painting of Chi-Chi, the colors on which were fading and running.  
"Oh, no! We have to do something!" Goku said quickly.  
"But what?" Pu'ar answered.  
"I don't know! Maybe I can find someplace on the surface for it...Turtle's island! I can take it there, and he'll keep it safe for me," Goku said as he started to pull the painting down from its niche. A large shadow fell over the two of them and Goku jumped back at the sight of his father entering the grotto, his eyes blazing furiously. As he looked around at the small cave, his anger visibly increased. Piccolo was behind him, looking guilty.  
"Father!" Goku gasped. "I. . ."  
"I'm not completely unreasonable," King Vegeta cut in. "I set rules for everyone, and those rules were to be obeyed."  
"Father. . ."  
"Did you or did you not save a human from drowning?" King Vegeta demanded, his voice the low rumble of an approaching typhoon.  
"I had to! She was going to die-!" Goku was determined to argue the point.  
"So what?! There would have been one less human in the world causing trouble for us ocean-dwellers!" King Vegeta snapped.  
"She's not like that!" Goku snapped back.  
"And how would you know?" King Vegeta growled.  
"I just do," Goku answered lowly. "I love her."  
"You've gone insane!" King Vegeta exploded, as his golden Trident, which he always had with him, began to glow brightly and hum with power. "Goku, you're going to understand, and if it must be like this, then so be it!" Goku felt a bolt of panic as King Vegeta swung the Trident around the grotto, bolts of power leaping from the tips of its prongs and destroying his entire collection. The noise level in the enclosed space was so great that Goku's fervent protests couldn't be heard. Pu'ar hid to avoid being hit. With several swift, brutal attacks, King Vegeta had laid the entire grotto to waste, with only one item left intact - the painting of Princess Chi-Chi. He aimed the Trident at it carefully.  
"Father, NO!" Goku cried as a last bolt of power burst from the Trident and struck the painting, making it explode and burn for a few seconds. The tiny remnants of the once beautiful painting floated sadly through the water.  
"I want you back at the palace, now," King Vegeta said, breathing deeply. Hurting, Goku sucked in a quavering breath, and then frantically swam out of the grotto at top speed, in the opposite direction from the palace. "Goku!" King Vegeta shouted after him, but didn't follow. The boy needed time to calm down, he assured himself. He'd be back soon.  
  
Goku swam until he found a rocky outcropping, where he sat down and tried to still his pounding heart. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his wonderful collection exploding into a million pieces, and Chi-Chi's beautiful portrait blown to bits. He couldn't believe his father had done it. And the way he spoke about her! Insulting her, and...and he didn't even know anything about her! Goku's head was a whirlpool of anger, hurt, and pain. He didn't notice Pu'ar and Piccolo some ways behind him, trying desperately to catch up.  
"You poor, misunderstood soul," a voice said at his shoulder, and he jerked at the sound. He stared at the two strange eels that had slithered up to him. Both were pink; one was a darker shade than the other, and the second, lighter one was rather fat with a strange little smile. The thin, darker eel had black scales around its mouth, and two bony bumps on the top of its head.  
"You have big problem, yes?" the fat eel asked.  
"Who are you?" Goku asked suspiciously, floating away from them.  
"Representatives of someone who can help you," the thinner eel answered smoothly.  
"Someone who grant your wish!" the fat eel laughed gleefully.  
"You could be with your princess," the thin eel purred.  
"Forever and ever," the fat eel added.  
"How...?" Goku asked slowly.  
"Our master, Babidi, is very powerful," the thin eel said, advancing closer, and Goku pulled back further.  
"The Sea Wizard?!" Goku said. "No way! I'm not going to him!"  
"Well, if that's how you feel," the thin eel answered as he swam off.  
"Was only idea," the fat eel said sadly as the two flicked something back to him. Goku easily caught the object, and saw it was a piece of the destroyed painting...Chi-Chi's eyes. Goku stared at it for a few moments, feeling a lump form in his throat at the sight.  
"Wait!" he called after the eels, who turned as one and smiled back at him.  
"Yeesss?" they said together. Piccolo and Pu'ar reached Goku just in time to see him go with the eels.  
"Goku, what are you doing? Where are you going?" Piccolo shouted.  
"It's none of your business," Goku answered coldly.  
"But Goku-!" Pu'ar objected.  
"I'm going to Babidi!" Goku told her over his shoulder, and swam a little faster.  
"Babidi?!" Piccolo and Pu'ar cried in alarm, and tore through the water after them.  
"Babidi is a monster! He was banished for all of the evil things he did! You can't go to him!" Piccolo yelled after Goku, but Goku ignored him and simply pressed on. He knew all of the stories, but if Babidi really could help him be with Chi-Chi, then he was willing to at least hear him out. He and the eels were much faster swimmers than Piccolo and Pu'ar, and they soon left the two of them a far distance behind.  
The eels led him into a distant part of the sea, deep, cold, and dark, where Babidi made his home in the giant skeleton of an ancient sea beast. The gaps in the large bones where filled with seaweed, coral, and smaller bones.  
"Through here," the eels said in unison, motioning to the mouth of the sea beast's skeleton. They swam through first, Goku hesitating a moment behind them before he swam in as well. The entrance of the structure was dark, but Goku became aware of movement beneath him. He paused for a moment to look down and something grabbed his wrist. He let out a cry of disgust as he realized the floor of the entrance was covered in ugly, slimy plants with mournful faces that were making heart-wrenching moaning sounds. He broke his arm free and swam past the horrible garden, wondering what those things were. He paused a moment at the end of the entrance, facing the heart of Babidi's home. Buu and Dabura had swam ahead and had ducked into a corner of the cave. A hollow, ballish-thing, filled with boiling liquid and placed over a volcanic rift, sat to one side of the room, and various rock formations were being used as furniture.  
"Welcome," a softly rasping voice suddenly said, and Goku wheeled around to see Babidi emerge from a large shell near the ceiling. He was yellow-brown with red and blue markings here and there on his skin, big, green, bulging eyes, small strands of black hair poking out of his head, and eight tentacles originating from his waist. He was also very small in stature, only about a fourth of Goku's size. "Well, come in. Lurking in doorways isn't very polite, you know," the Sea Wizard said with a grin. Goku hesitatingly swam the rest of the way in, new doubts gnawing at him. "Now, you're here because you want to be with this human woman, Princess Chi-Chi, isn't that right?"  
"How did you know that?" Goku asked suspiciously.  
"I know many things," Babidi answered breezily. "Well, as I see it, the solution to your little problem is really quite simple: the only way to have her is to become a human yourself."  
"Is that possible? Could you really...?" Goku asked slowly, stunned by Babidi's casual attitude toward the whole thing.  
"Of course I can! My powers are formidable, you know. It would be simple for me to do," Babidi was still grinning. "I've been helping many merpeople since my forced exile, to make up for all the evil things I did. I know now they were very wrong, and I'm truly sorry I did them. Helping poor, unfortunate souls like yourself, is my penance," he explained, making his voice softly soothing and contrite as he swam closer to Goku. Goku gave the Sea Wizard a small nod of understanding, though he still harbored doubts. "I've been solving all sorts of problems; though, I'm sorry to say, not everyone could properly pay me for my rendered services afterwards. I'm sure that you'd agree; that's no way to handle a deal, so. . .I had to take my payment in another way," Babidi's eyes drifted for a moment to the horrid, writhing garden, then snapped back to Goku. "But that's very uncommon. What matters right now is how I can help you." His look at the garden didn't go unnoticed; Goku couldn't help himself as he turned to it for a few moments while Babidi spoke, chilled with the idea that those strange, unhappy plants used to be merpeople.  
"So, how can you help me?" Goku said as he forced his gaze back to the small Sea Wizard.  
"I can cast a spell that will make you a human for three weeks," Babidi said, waving a hand over his boiling cauldron, causing several small suns to spin by. Goku frowned; that wasn't a very long time. "Now, here's the important part - before the sun sets on the last day of those three weeks, you have to get the pretty little Princess to fall in love with you and kiss you. But not with just any old kiss, my boy. . . the kiss of True Love! If the kiss is given before that final sunset, then you will be a human forever!" An outlined image of Goku running on two muscular legs appeared out of the cauldron. "But, if she doesn't. . ." The image's legs were swallowed in light and transformed into a fishtail. "You'll turn back into a merman, and will then belong to me." The image was sucked back into the cauldron. By this time, Piccolo and Pu'ar had arrived, and heard the Sea Wizard's offered deal. Piccolo started to move forward and object, only to be grabbed by Dabura, the skinnier eel. The fat eel, Buu, effectively silenced Pu'ar vocal protests with a quick wrap of his chubby pink tail around her mouth. "So, what do you think?" Babidi went on, ignoring his pets and their struggling captives. Goku's eyes were downcast as he thought it over.  
"If I were to become human...I could never go home and see my father or brothers again," he observed sadly.  
"Well, yes, that's true. . .but you'd also have your true love. . .life's just full of hard choices, isn't it?" Babidi said coolly. "Also, I feel it only fair to warn you - the transformation will be extremely painful. After all, a large portion of your body will be completely changed."  
"I can handle a little pain," Goku said assuredly.  
"Yes, I'm sure you can," Babidi quickly agreed. "Oh, yes! One more thing - we haven't discussed what you'll pay me in exchange for my spell!"  
"I didn't bring anything. . ." A yellow-brown tentacle on his mouth stopped him in mid-sentence. Goku ripped the tentacle off his face with a disgusted grimace.  
"I wouldn't be asking for much! Just a little something you probably won't even miss once you're out of the sea!" Babidi said with a faux- friendly smile. Goku blinked and reached up to finger his royal necklace. "Oh, no, not that! I have no use for such a trinket! What I want from you is. . .your voice!"  
"Say what?" Goku said, utterly bewildered.  
"So to speak. In exchange for casting this spell on you, I want your voice. I can think of many uses for such a nice, melodious voice," Babidi said. Goku frowned again. This whole thing stank of a trap. "You don't have to, of course! It's entirely up to you! You can do this trade and have your princess. . ." He waved his hand to his cauldron again and an image of Chi-Chi appeared, smiling and laughing. "Or just leave now, and live the rest of your life down here while she finds a suitable human man to marry." The image changed to Chi-Chi walking on the beach with one of her suitors. Goku sucked in a pained breath.  
"But without my voice, how can I win her heart?" he asked.  
"You're handsome, polite, charming...and there's always the age-old communication of body language!" Babidi slickly answered, his grin deepening as he saw the young prince's resolve starting to erode.  
"No talking at all?" Goku pressed.  
"None. No talking, no singing, even if you sneeze, no sound will come out," Babidi nodded. Babidi then conjured a glowing contract. "Do we have a deal?" Goku thought about it for several long moments. He still felt a little like this was some kind of trap, but when he turned his head, he found himself looking at the image of Chi-Chi and one of her human suitors again. His voice for a pair of human legs...he drew in a slow breath and took the fish-bone pen he was offered. He wrote his name on the contract before he could think twice about it, and Babidi let out a triumphant laugh. "It's a done deal!" he crowed, and then began throwing ingredients into his cauldron. Piccolo pinched Dabura with his claws tightly enough to make him let go and tried to reach the Prince, but Dabura tackled him again. Once the potion was complete, Babidi began chanting in a language Goku didn't recognize, and the water around him began to violently swirl like a whirlpool. As Babidi's spell reached its climax, two ghostly hands materialized from the cauldron and moved toward Goku. "Sing!" Babidi ordered, and Goku sang, raising his voice in a simple vocalization. One of the hands grabbed his chest and the other went down his throat, and then emerged a second later with a glowing ball, from which came Goku's voice, still singing the wordless tune. The hands pulled the voice into a small, scalloped shell Babidi held up. Babidi cackled gleefully and cast the remainder of the spell, which sent another tight, glowing whirlpool around Goku. Goku tried to cry out at the pain, but no sound came out of his mouth. His fish tail was first torn in two and then reshaped into legs and feet. His chest burned as his respiratory system was re-made to breathe air instead of water, and a searing pain shot through him as the rest of the changes also happened. Then it was over, leaving a dull ache through his whole body, and a sudden, panicky need for air - he was going to drown! He didn't know how to swim with legs and he couldn't push up! Dabura and Buu finally released Pu'ar and Piccolo, who quickly grabbed Goku and swam for the surface for all they were worth with him in tow. Babidi's evil laughter trailed after them.  
"Hm, maybe I should have waited until he was nearer to the surface before casting that part of the spell. Oh, well!" Babidi grinned to himself.  
"Master, why take voice?" Buu asked curiously as they watched the prince and his friends leave.  
"Yes, wouldn't his strength be more useful to us?" Dabura added.  
"Oh, we'll have his strength soon enough," Babidi said. "I'm no fool. The one thing Princess Chi-Chi remembers clearly about her savior is him singing over her. So. . ."  
"If he can't speak. . ." Dabura continued, starting to grin himself.  
"He no can be her savior!" Buu finished, and they all chuckled malevolently.  
  
To be continued. . . Having fun yet? Check out the conclusion in part 2: On the Land. 


	2. merman2

Why repost this chap, you ask? Simple: I forgot to mention before that my good friend Holly O. did a lovely pic of this fic for me! You can find it at deviant art under Hollyberry52! I tried to post the exact address, but it seems this site won't let me!  
Sorry for forgetting, Holly! Now, back to our story.   
  
Part 2: On the Land  
  
Piccolo and Pu'ar shoved Goku through the surface, and he broke above the waves down to his hips thanks to the forced motion. He gasped and coughed painfully and quietly as they helped him swim to shore, keeping his head buoyed above the water. His body was exhausted from the magical transformation, and numbed from the pain that came with it. He wasn't sure how long it took to reach the shore, but he was grateful when they finally reached it. He strained to pull himself onto the sand as he drew in slow, deep breaths. Pu'ar and Piccolo also sat and rested for a bit. Air had always seemed too thin for comfort before, but now it felt perfect to his newly formed lungs. The pain was gone now, and Goku rolled over to lay on his back, propped up by his elbows. Then he sat up completely, staring at the changes in his body. He lifted one leg a little way, put it down, and then lifted the other. He stared in surprise at the sight of his seaweed string of seashells, which was now broken, wrapped around his new ankle. He frowned sadly as he took the torn string off his leg and looked at it. ((It must have broken when my tail was transformed.)) he reasoned. He still had the shells around his wrists and his necklace, but his tail string was history, and he put it aside with an unheard sigh. He glanced around quickly and realized, to his great delight, that this was the beach below Chi-Chi's palace! Smiling, he pulled himself up on one of the rocks that jutted out of the sand in that area of the beach, and stood up for the first time on his new feet. The beach below Chi-Chi's palace was rife with large rocks, some in the surf and some on the beach itself, for which he was grateful. His legs wobbled unsteadily, but he decided to attempt a few exploratory steps. He let go of the rock and took a step away, then fell over onto the sand. He frowned again; Chi-Chi and Bulma had made standing and walking look so easy. Not allowing himself to be deterred in the least, he propped himself back onto his feet to try again. This time, he tried to just stand still for a bit before walking.  
"I can't believe you did this, Goku!!" Piccolo bellowed once he had breath enough to do so. "What will your father say?! He'll say he'll have lobster for dinner, that's what he'll say! What were you thinking?!" Goku shot him a frustrated look, and tried to tell him to calm down, but nothing came out.  
"Goku, are you okay? Are you sure this was the right choice?" Pu'ar asked, clearly uncertain and nervous. Goku gave her a confident smile and nodded. He then started practicing walking again.  
"There's still time," Piccolo went on, more to himself than Goku. "Pu'ar and I can go back to Babidi, and convince him to give you your voice and tail back, and you can just go home!" Goku shook his head vigorously to show his disagreement with that idea. "Don't shake your head at me!" Piccolo snarled, caught between anger and fear. "How could you have agreed to such a thing in the first place?!" Goku sighed and tried to show Piccolo with his face and eyes that he'd be unhappy back under the sea if he didn't at least try to win Chi-Chi.  
"Well, hi there, Goku! Back again?" Turtle's voice suddenly reached them, and they turned to see him come up the beach. Goku smiled a mute greeting. Turtle tilted his head to one side. "What's the matter? No answer? Say, something's different. . ." Turtle took another look and his eyes bugged out. "Goku! You've got legs! How?!"  
"Babidi. He traded his voice to him for legs," Piccolo said, still bristling with anger.  
"Babidi?! Oh, my! I've heard all kinds of terrible things about him!" Turtle gasped.  
"Yeah, so has everyone else in the ocean," Piccolo grumbled. Then he let out a defeated sigh. "Well, there's nothing left to do, I suppose, but to find that Princess. It would be better for him to remain human forever than belong to Babidi." Pu'ar and Turtle nodded, and then Turtle turned and pulled down a tattered sail that was caught on some of the rocks.  
"If you're going to present yourself to a Princess, you'll need something to wear," Turtle said around the sail.  
  
Chi-Chi and Bulma were walking down the beach with Korin trotting alongside them when Korin suddenly caught wind of a familiar scent. He mewed in interest, and ran ahead of his mistress and her friend.  
"Korin! Come back here!" Chi-Chi called after him, and she and Bulma ran after him. Korin ran straight to where Goku was tying the sail around himself. "Korin, what's got into...oh," Chi-Chi blinked in surprise as Korin ran up to a handsome, half-naked man, wearing a tattered sail and two seashell bracelets, and a beautiful pearl and seashell necklace. It was a strange sight, especially when the man fell over after trying to take a step forward. At the same time, he felt very familiar to her. Chi-Chi ran forward to see if he was all right, placing her hands on his damp shoulders as she did so. "Are you okay? That was quite a fall," she said, and he looked up into her eyes and smiled tenderly, like he knew her very well. He sat up to be more level with her, his face full of delight, and Chi-Chi felt her cheeks redden, and the feeling of familiarity increase. "Do I... know you from somewhere?" she asked cautiously, and Goku nodded quickly. Her eyes lit up, and Bulma felt her jaw start to drop in surprise. "Are you the one? What's your name?" Chi-Chi asked quickly, squeezing his shoulders, and Goku went to answer - but no sound came out of his mouth. He gritted his teeth in annoyance; not having a voice was even more aggravating that he thought it would be. "What's wrong? Can't you speak?" Chi-Chi asked, her grip going slack, and Goku shook his head no with an air of misery. The light went out of Chi-Chi's eyes then and her shoulders sagged. "Oh. Then you can't be whom I thought," she said sadly. Goku shook his head no, pointed to himself, and made a few more gestures to try and make her understand, all of which went not understood. He tried to stand and nearly toppled over again by going too fast, only to be caught under one shoulder by Chi-Chi. "You've really been through something, haven't you?"  
"I'd say so...whatever happened to his clothes, do you suppose?" Bulma asked lightly as she moved to support him under his other shoulder.  
"I have no idea. Come on, we'll take him to the palace," Chi-Chi said firmly, and Bulma knew better than to argue. Goku smiled a little, pleased to at least be going to her palace, and sent that same smile briefly over his shoulder to his friends, who were watching from the surf. Except for Piccolo, who was clinging to the inside of the sail. The only thing he could do now was to go with Goku and try to help him.  
  
Goku sat in the soapy water and marveled at such a thing. Having spent his entire life submerged in water, bathing was a new idea. The lightly sweet smell of the soap was pleasant, and he watched in wonder as the bubbles popped in the air. It had only taken a bit for him to figure out what to do in the bath, though the servant sent to help him helped in more ways than one. Rubbing the washcloth over his skin was a new feeling, but not a bad one. The servant scooped up the sail and took it away, claiming they'd have it washed. Unfortunately, Piccolo was still hidden inside it. The rag, along with Piccolo, was dumped into a washtub and scrubbed.  
"So, where do you think this new guy came from?" one of the washerwomen asked as she tended to the blouse in her sudsy hands.  
"No idea. A half-naked man washed up on the beach is just a little strange, if you ask me," a second woman answered, scrubbing the sail with Piccolo inside. "And from what I hear, he can't have been there long as he was still all wet."  
"No boots, no coat, not even a shirt, I could understand - he might shed those to swim better. But completely naked?" a third woman shook her head as she washed a dress.  
"Princess Chi-Chi has been going to the beach more often than she used to; searching for the 'mystery man' who saved her," a fourth woman observed.  
"If she wants to find a husband," the second woman said as she ran the sail through a wringer, "I know plenty of available, nice young men around here." The sail was then hung on the line and sent upwards to dry. Piccolo, spitting out soap and feeling a little bruised, quickly jumped from the sail through the nearest open window. He landed on a wooden floor with a sigh of relief. Then a strange odor hit his nostrils, and he looked around himself. Counters filled with half-prepared food, a roaring fire with a large pot on it, and any number of cooking utensils filled the room. He had landed in the worse possible place for himself: the palace kitchen! He quickly searched to find a place to hide.  
  
As Goku worked on drying himself off after his bath, more servants came in with clothes for him. They were very nice clothes, well made from fine fabrics; Goku hoped he could figure out how to put them on without either damaging them or making himself look like a fool. Thankfully, he could tell by looking at most of the garments how they went on, and the servants helped him with a few pieces of the clothing. Before long, he was ready.  
"So, any other ideas on who our mysterious visitor might be?" Bulma asked as she and Chi-Chi sat down to dinner.  
"None. I thought he might be a sailor, but that doesn't make much sense...did you see the seashell jewelry he was wearing?" Chi-Chi answered.  
"Yes, I did. I've never seen anything like them," Bulma said. Chi- Chi then sighed and looked a little sad.  
"I was really hoping he was the one," she said quietly. Bulma also sighed, but it was a sigh of annoyance.  
"Chi-Chi, could you consider, just for a moment, that you dreamed up the man who saved you? I mean, why would he run when I came up? It doesn't make sense!" Bulma said, highly agitated. Chi-Chi's eyes filled with flame.  
"My not drowning and getting washed ashore beneath my palace doesn't make any sense! Someone brought me here, Bulma! He was young, my age, with dark hair and a handsome face, and he could sing! I didn't dream him up!" Chi-Chi snarled. Before they could launch into their argument anew, Goku walked into the room. They turned and watched him as he walked forward, dressed in blue slacks, white boots, a white shirt and a white, gold-trimmed dress coat. He was still wearing his unusual seashell jewelry. His steps were steady and sure now, and he smiled at Chi-Chi brightly.  
"My, quite the looker, isn't he?" Bulma said secretively to Chi-Chi.  
"You look great...I mean, much better!" Chi-Chi blushed a little at her own slip as well as the way he looked at her. His face revealed his pleasure at her compliment. "Please, sit," she motioned to the chair beside her, and he carefully sat himself down. Sitting was a little different with legs, but not too different. "Are you hungry?" she asked, and Goku nodded, suddenly realizing he was starved. Chi-Chi turned to a servant who was standing nearby. "What's for dinner, Lunch?" she asked the purple-haired young woman.  
"I believe Yajirobe is preparing lobster," Lunch smiled sweetly. Goku felt himself pale a tiny bit; he still wasn't quite sure where Piccolo was. Chi-Chi noticed his slightly upset look.  
"Don't you like lobster?" she asked. Forgetting, again, that he couldn't speak, Goku tried to tell her that he liked lobster just fine, but he knew one, and...he stopped then, giving a tight-lipped look of annoyance to himself. Chi-Chi and Bulma glanced at each other thoughtfully, both coming to the same conclusion - he hadn't always been mute.  
  
In the kitchen, Piccolo was moving stealthily from one hiding place to another to try and reach the door. The cook, a short, fat man with thin black hair, was working on the meal. He was humming as he spiced the water the lobsters were boiling in and then began preparing the salads while checking to make sure the biscuits were almost done. Piccolo felt a little queasy as he looked around; merpeople ate fish, but they ate it raw, and he always made a point not to be there when they did. The smell of his brethren cooking made his shell crawl. He was about to make a dash from his latest hiding place when Yajirobe spotted him.  
"What the...? Now, how did you fall down there?" Yajirobe said as he picked Piccolo up. Piccolo went limp for the moment, working on an escape plan. "I can't believe I let a big, fat, juicy lobster like this fall on the floor! Well, I'd better get it ready," he said, and quickly rinsed Piccolo off. Then he poured the marinating sauce over him, and then added some flour. Then he released him into the cooking pot. Piccolo caught the edge of the pot with his pincers, his tail sinking into the boiling water. The other lobsters were already cooked, and thus didn't notice him. He let out a small noise of pain as he hoisted himself out of the pot and tried to make another break for the door.  
"Huh?" Yajirobe turned at the sound of Piccolo hitting the floor, and grabbed the lobster before he could move. "You're an active one, aren't you?" Yajirobe said slowly, raising a small meat-tenderizer hammer with which to stun the lobster. Piccolo did the only thing he could think of - he landed several claw-punches on the human's face. Yajirobe let out a yelp of surprise and pain and dropped Piccolo back onto the floor. Piccolo started to run. Yajirobe turned fury-filled eyes to the green crustacean, and charged after him, throwing a pan. Piccolo jumped out of the way and then lunged at the human's ankles, planning on toppling him long enough to get away.  
  
"Your father should be returning from the trade agreement talks in a week," Bulma said casually as they waited for their dinner. Chi-Chi was watching Goku, who was smiling at her sweetly while he snuck glances at the silverware and tried to remember what all Turtle had told him about such things.  
"What?" Chi-Chi looked back to her friend. "Oh, yes, he should." Bulma smiled slyly.  
"You know, Princess, you've been spending too much time moping around the palace. Why don't you take our new friend on a tour of the kingdom? I mean, presuming he's new here," Bulma suggested brightly.  
"That's a fine idea! I mean, if he is...are you new to our kingdom?" she turned to Goku, who nodded ascent. "Would you like to go on a tour?" He nodded again, and reached out to touch her hand. She looked at him curiously, and he pulled his hand back. He had to go just a little slower, or she'd think badly of him. Then she gave him a friendly smile and reached out and patted his hand gently to show she wasn't offended. "Say, I know! What we need is some paper, ink, and a quill! You can write your answers!" she suddenly said. Goku wondered what paper, ink, and a quill were, but nodded anyway. Just then a loud clattering and crashing came from the kitchen, followed by a male voice cursing. Lunch turned red as she glanced at their visitor and hurried for the door.  
"I'd better check on Yajirobe..." Lunch said quickly, and dashed into the kitchen. When she got there, half the place was in ruins. Shelves were broken, dishes were strewn about and in pieces, and flour and sauce were everywhere. Yajirobe was looking around furiously for Piccolo, his face bruising from the blows already dealt.  
"YAJIROBE!! What have you been doing in here?!" Lunch demanded loudly.  
"I...uh...I...." Yajirobe stammered. He quickly fetched the cooked lobsters, set them out on plates and arranged them on the tray, along with the salads and biscuits. "I'm sorry...but there was this lobster that..." Lunch cut him off with a cold glare and took the tray.  
"So, what was that racket?" Chi-Chi asked as Lunch served them. The plates were covered with round lids.  
"Oh, uh, nothing important...Yajirobe overfilled one of his shelves and it broke, that's all," Lunch answered with a nervous smile.  
"Really? Should we send for a carpenter?" Bulma asked, still looking at Lunch as she uncovered her plate. Goku blinked in surprise to see Piccolo hiding on Bulma's plate by her cooked lobster. Before anyone else could notice him, Piccolo quickly jumped off the table. He went to sit between Goku's feet, and Goku acted as though nothing was amiss. He watched the women carefully to see how to use the utensils to eat the lobsters. Back home, they would just crack the shells open and use sharpened seashells to pull out the meat, but it was clearly different here. On the whole, however, he managed to eat without drawing much attention; and he had to admit, cooked lobster was rather tasty.  
After dinner, Chi-Chi led him to a study, and offered him some paper, an inkwell, and a quill. For a moment, he was at a loss, until he remembered the parchments he and his brothers had found. All writing done under the sea was done as carvings in stone, but he felt certain he could figure this out. After a few false starts that left him feeling very foolish, he managed to write out practically his entire story, from saving her to trading his voice for legs. He handed the papers to her, and she looked at them eagerly - for a few seconds. Then she looked disappointed. The language of the merpeople and her people was the same when spoken, but the alphabets each used were completely different. The pages were covered in symbols she couldn't decipher. The disappointment was felt on both sides.  
Goku was given a nice room with one window overlooking the beach and one window overlooking a small courtyard of the palace. He dressed for bed with little trouble, and went to the window overlooking the courtyard. Chi- Chi was down there, with Korin. She was walking on the small, grassy lawn, seemingly lost in thought, and humming. Goku could just make out the tune, and realized it was the song he'd sung over her after saving her. She suddenly looked up and noticed him, and waved shyly. He waved back, and then stepped back from the window so she wouldn't think he was spying on her. Piccolo was standing on the nightstand by Goku's bed.  
"This is, unquestionably, the worst day of my life! I fail miserably in my duty to my King, I'm almost cooked, and I get served for dinner!" Piccolo groused as he tried to wipe off the feeling of sauce with a towel Goku gave him. Goku sat down on the bed and sank a few inches into the soft mattress. He grinned and laid down, feeling exhausted. "All right, we need to get down to work, because you don't have much time. During that tour tomorrow, lay on all of the charm you have! Make sure you look your best, and be polite, kind, and whatever else as it takes! The sooner you get her to kiss you, the better! Are you listening to me, Goku?" he paused a moment when he realized the young sea prince was sound asleep. Piccolo sighed, and blew out the candle he was standing next to. "You're hopeless, Goku. Totally hopeless," he shook his head and got onto the bed to sleep himself.  
  
They set out on the tour early the next day in a small carriage driven by an old man named Roshi. Bulma stayed behind, claiming there were tasks in the palace to which she needed to tend. She and Lunch watched them leave from one of the palace windows, waving goodbye until the carriage was out of the gate. As they rode down the main street into town, Chi-Chi pointed out some sights. Goku tried not to show too much surprise or wonder at anything he saw, but it was difficult. Once they were in town, they went on foot to see things better. There was a spring fair being held on four streets, and Goku wanted to see it all. He marveled at the street performances, the objects for sale, and the various kinds of food. They came across an open area where people were dancing to the music of a band playing in the street. Goku watched their legs and feet with a faint air of wonder; the merpeople had something similar to dancing, but not quite the same.  
"Would you like to dance?" Chi-Chi asked him. Goku looked a little uncomfortable at the thought. "You don't know this dance?" she asked gently, and he shook his head a little sheepishly. She smiled and took his hand. "It's not hard; I'll show you," she said, and he let her lead him into the midst of the other dancers. She led first, explaining the proper steps, and before long he got the hang of it and was leading, and all who saw them thought they both moved with great grace and skill. After they'd seen all there was to see at the fair, they rode in the carriage beyond the main city to see some of the countryside surrounding it. Goku took in everything with child-like excitement, and Chi-Chi watched him curiously; his reactions were like someone who had never seen many of these things before. He turned and smiled at her, and she felt her cheeks turn a little pink as she smiled back. He was unlike any man she'd ever met, and she liked him.  
  
Things were less pleasant in the Kingdom of the Merpeople. King Vegeta was between incensed and worried with Goku's disappearance. He had several guards out searching for him, but none of them had found anything yet. His other six sons were growing increasingly concerned about their missing brother; they knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't swim off like this without good reason. They all came to a mutual decision to search for Goku themselves, and had just left the palace when a guard came swimming up with a grim look on his face.  
"Your Highnesses," the guard bowed a bit. "I may have found something."  
"What?" they all said at once.  
"What have you found?" Raditz demanded.  
"Show it to us at once!" Vegeta snapped. The guard held out his hand, in which sat Goku's broken seashell string. A wave had swept it off the beach and back into the sea. The six Sea Princes stared at it for a moment.  
"Where did you find it?" Vegeta asked at last.  
"Floating in the western quadrant, near the black mountains by the red coral reef," the guard answered. "But the current most likely took it there on its own, it's been so strong since last evening; I doubt Prince Goku was there when he lost it."  
"You're probably right," Tien nodded, though it didn't make him feel any better.  
"Good work. Keep searching for the Prince, we'll take this to the King," Vegeta said, and the guard bowed again.  
"Highness," he said, and left.  
"What could have happened?" Krillin asked first.  
"Now, now, jumping to conclusions won't help Goku," Juuna said, though it was clear he was antsy too.  
"Juuna is right, we still don't know anything. Goku could've gotten his tail string caught on something and that broke it off. From what we've heard, he was so upset yesterday he wouldn't have noticed if he lost it," Yamcha agreed, and hoped none of them noticed his shaking hands.  
"Right," Raditz nodded. "It's not like the string is bloody and was found near sharks or killer whales." They all fell quiet for a moment.  
"Come on, let's take it to Father," Vegeta said, and they swam back into the palace. The King reacted much as they had, with increased nervousness that he rapidly covered up.  
"That-that foolhardy boy! He lost his tail string, too, on top of everything else? When I find him, he won't be allowed out of his room for three tides!" King Vegeta said, acting strong, but his sons could see that he was getting more worried. They left the palace again shortly thereafter to check some of the places the guards wouldn't think to look, since they were supposed to be off-limits, but that Goku could and would hide in. Unfortunately, no matter where they looked, they could find no trace of their missing brother.  
  
The first week passed for Goku in near bliss. He spent every day with Chi-Chi when she wasn't busy with affairs of state, and he could sense her affections for him growing. Piccolo was always close by, and often groused to him about missed opportunities to kiss her. He had actually tried to kiss her once, but she had pulled away shyly. She taught him to play a game called chess, and he wasn't too bad at it after losing his first ten games. He'd found a chessboard and a few pieces under the sea once, and Turtle had told him a few things about the game, but not enough with which to really play. She also started teaching him to write in her language, though it was taking far too long. Since writing wasn't a real option at the moment, he tried drawing out what had happened to him on several sheets of paper. Chi-Chi found him bent over a desk, finishing the last picture.  
"What are you doing?" she asked lightly. He looked up and smiled excitedly, and handed her the drawings. "What's this? Art?" she glanced at it, and blinked at the sight of the ship on which she'd had her birthday party. "What...?" she said quietly as she looked at the next picture, which showed lightning hitting the ship and the ship burning. Next was a picture of her (not perfect, but still clearly her) being struck by the pulley and thrown overboard. "How do you know about this?" she asked quickly as she looked at the next picture, which had a mermaid - no, a merman - in the water with her. Strangely, the drawn merman resembled her guest. The next picture showed the merman saving her and bringing her to the beach. The final few pictures were of the merman with a strange, octopus-like creature, who seemed to be taking a ball out of the merman's mouth, and then giving the merman legs in return. The very last picture was of the merman, now looking just like the stranger, standing on the land with her. She again studied each of them carefully, and then looked at him. She didn't know what to think. He was looking at her eagerly, waiting for her response. She wetted her lips thoughtfully. What in the world did it all mean? Was it some kind of story he'd made up? Now, she really didn't know what to think! Goku felt his rising hope slip away when he realized she didn't understand that this was what had happened. After several awkward moments of compliments about his artistic talent and half-muttered questions about what it all meant, Goku put the pictures away and tried to think of something else.  
A few days after, Chi-Chi received word from her father that he'd be delayed for another week. She was only a little disappointed, for she was still working on a way to introduce their guest to him. She also gathered some information on sign language for them both to learn. She wanted to talk with him very much. Goku was willing to try anything to communicate with her. Piccolo, who usually spent much of the day either hidden in Goku's room or on the beach speaking with Pu'ar, was quickly losing patience with the whole situation.  
"Goku, you need to get a move on! We only have 10 days left!" Piccolo growled to Goku one evening after his first signing lesson. Goku breezily waved to show he wasn't worried. He saw the way she looked at him; he was certain that she was falling for him, and he just needed the right moment to kiss her. If he kept trying to kiss her left and right, she'd think he was too forward at best, a lecherous slime at worst. "Don't wave at me! This is serious! We're talking about your life and freedom here!" Piccolo snapped. Goku frowned at him to show he understood, and then opened the window. The smell of the sea wafted in strongly, and Goku felt a small twinge of homesickness. ((I think I'll walk on the beach for a bit.)) he decided, and left the castle for the beach with Piccolo on his heels. "Where are you going?! Come back here! Don't walk away when I'm talking to you...!"  
  
The entire Mer-Kingdom was in an uproar. Goku's disappearance was no longer considered to be merely 'swimming away'; most were convinced he had somehow been kidnapped. King Vegeta was worried to death, and the other Sea Princes could barely contain themselves. The entire kingdom and much of the ocean beyond had been thoroughly searched, with no sign of Goku. Piccolo and Pu'ar's disappearances had been noted as well, but few were sure if the absences were connected. The Sea Princes were fairly sure they were, however. They were all near the breaking point when Vegeta suddenly startled, his eyes wide.  
"Of course!! How could we not think of it?!" he snapped, and suddenly swam off at top speed. His younger brothers quickly followed him.  
"What? What didn't we think of?" Juuna asked anxiously.  
"Vegeta, where are we going?" Raditz asked at the same time.  
"I know where Goku is!" Vegeta answered sharply.  
"WHERE?!" the others demanded in unison.  
"Where else?! He's been hiding near the shoreline where that human Princess he's in love with lives! No one, not even us, searched anywhere close to the shorelines! Most didn't go near the surface at all! Of course we didn't find him!" Vegeta said firmly, and the others felt shock stab them like fishhooks. The answer was so clear, so plain, it was hard to believe none of them had realized it much sooner.  
"Of course!!" Raditz bellowed, swimming faster.  
"It's so obvious!!" Krillin agreed.  
"He's going to be in so much trouble when we bring him home!" Yamcha shook his head, relief filling him. "Going to the surface again after Dad was so mad at him for breaking that rule!"  
"Yeah! Father will most definitely string him up by his fin this time!" Tien said, a light chuckle escaping him. They were all happy, relieved, and eager to see their littlest brother again.  
They broke the surface close to the beach and gazed upward at the dark, starry sky curiously. They had only gone to the surface the one time they'd followed Goku, and it had been daytime. They didn't understand why it was so dark now. Ignoring the darkness, they swam to the rocks and started looking for Goku.  
"Goku!" they all called quietly. "Goku! Where are you? Come out right now!"  
"You're in enough trouble as it is! Don't make it worse!" Vegeta whispered urgently.  
  
"Goku!"  
  
"Goku!"  
  
"Goku!"  
"Hsst! Someone's coming!!" Tien suddenly called, and they dove behind the rocks and watched the dark figure walking up the beach.  
"What are you guys doing here?!" Pu'ar's voice suddenly asked in a high whisper, and they stared at the blue-purple catfish sitting in the water.  
"Pu'ar! Where's Goku?!" Raditz demanded sharply, almost leaving his hiding place.  
"He's....well, he's..." Pu'ar stuttered nervously.  
"HE'S RIGHT THERE!!!" Krillin yelled, leaning out from the rock he'd hidden behind as the person on the beach came close enough to be identified as their lost brother. Goku jumped and stared at Krillin in horrified shock. ((Oh, no! What are my brothers doing here?!)) he thought. Piccolo, who was behind Goku, stiffened as well, but they hadn't noticed him yet.  
"What?!" the others quickly left their hiding places, and Goku took a step backwards. His brothers swam right up to the shore to look at him, their faces as full of the same shock and fear as his own.  
"Goku. . .what happened. . . .you have. . .!. . .how?!" Yamcha asked.  
"Brother, what have you done?!" Vegeta barked, his eyes wide and locked onto Goku's human legs. Goku, in a near panic, started to try and explain, but even though his mouth was moving, not a sound came out. "Answer me, Brother!"  
"Stop joking around, Goku, and talk to us!" Juuna agreed. Goku grimaced and tried again with his hands, which didn't work either.  
"Goku, our patience is running out! Tell us this instant what's going on, or...!" Raditz growled.  
"He can't," Pu'ar said sadly. They looked at her icily.  
"What do you mean, 'can't'?" Vegeta asked lowly.  
"He can't," Pu'ar repeated. "Goku can't speak anymore. He traded his voice to Babidi, the Sea Wizard, for a pair of legs."  
"HE. . .DID. . .WHAT?!?!" all six of the other sea princes cried.  
"Goku, how could you do something so stupid?!" Krillin said.  
"We all know that Babidi is evil! Everyone knows that! Why would you go to him for anything?!" Yamcha agreed.  
"What were you thinking?!" Tien snapped.  
"What good will this do?! What will it accomplish?!" Raditz asked.  
"How long will this last?" Juuna asked.  
"This is unbelievable! You actually gave up your voice and tail for legs?! Why?!" Vegeta demanded harshly. Goku looked at them imploringly.  
"He did it to be with that human princess he's in love with," Pu'ar explained for him. "The spell will only last three weeks, unless he can get her to fall in love with him and kiss him. If she kisses him, he'll stay human forever. If she doesn't, he'll turn back into a merman, but..."  
"Right! Goku, I order you to stay away from her and wait for this spell to wear off!" Vegeta commanded.  
"Agreed!" the others said. Goku shook his head frantically.  
"No, no, no! Part of the deal was that, if he fails to win Chi-Chi's heart and stay human forever, afterwards, he'll turn back into a merman and he'll belong to Babidi!" Pu'ar squeaked fearfully, and they looked at her and then at him, and he nodded quickly, his eyes touched with fear.  
"Oh, Kami. . .Brother, what have you gotten yourself into?" Raditz said somberly under his breath.  
"You must really love her a lot..." Krillin said softly, and Goku nodded with a small smile. "Do you think you can get her to kiss you in time?" Goku smiled widely and confidently, giving an affirmative nod.  
"Hey, Piccolo! There you are!" Yamcha suddenly said, spotting the lobster behind Goku.  
"Good evening, Your Highness," Piccolo said with forced calmness.  
"Where were you when he was making this mistake?" Raditz asked coolly.  
"Yeah, weren't you supposed to watch him and keep him in line?" Tien added. Piccolo sighed unhappily.  
"I was being held down and gagged by one of Babidi's eels. He didn't let go until after Goku was turned into a human," Piccolo answered, and the brothers backed off.  
"Great. . .just great. Should we tell Father?" Juuna asked tensely. He could just imagine their father's reaction to Goku's choice, and it wasn't pretty. The others all felt the same way.  
"Um, maybe not yet. . .he's. . .probably asleep by now, anyway," Krillin offered feebly, and the others nodded and agreed.  
"We'll wait until we can think of a way to break it to him gently. . .in the meantime, we'll check up on you when we can," Vegeta said, and Goku watched his older brothers disappear back beneath the waves. He heaved a completely silent sigh; his father was going to be so angry and disappointed. And yet, when he thought of Chi-Chi smiling at him and talking to him about her day, he couldn't regret his decision, or wish to be back under the sea. ((Chi-Chi,)) he prayed, ((kiss me soon. . . .I want to stay with you forever.)) He then turned and walked back to the palace.  
  
The following days passed much as the ones before them did. Chi-Chi spent the morning and early afternoon making decisions for the kingdom, then spent the late afternoon and evening with Goku and Bulma. They had both learned enough sign language now to speak a little, and Chi-Chi felt her feelings for him deepening all the time. She knew she was falling. . .had fallen, but she didn't know what she should do about it. She knew nothing about him, who he was or where he was from, or even his name. Even so, she was drawn to him. There was just something in his eyes and smile. There also something in the way he held himself and moved that suggested someone of high breeding and importance. She knew he was in love with her, she could tell by how he looked at her. There were times when she felt like she was falling into his eyes, and she often had to give her head a little shake to clear it when that happened. There was also a small problem, some of the nobles' sons who'd been courting her before disliked her visitor strongly. She'd heard more than one muttering that he must be some poor vagrant and thus be thrown back onto the street where he belonged. Such talk disgusted her, and made her all the gladder she hadn't chosen any of them. Goku had noticed some slight hostility from some of the other young men, but had chosen to ignore it. That almost proved to be a mistake.  
Goku was walking down the hall of the palace towards the study where Chi-Chi was waiting for him with more lessons for writing and signing, when a young nobleman with shoulder length, slightly wavy dark blue hair and gray eyes like storm clouds crossed his path and barred his way. Goku recognized him as being the last young man with whom he'd seen Chi-Chi walking on the beach. ((What did she say his name was? Davin?)) He really didn't care, and tried to move around him. The nobleman moved to block him again.  
"Going to see Princess Chi-Chi again? You two have been seeing a lot of each other lately," he said coolly. Goku gave him a 'what's-it-to- you?' look, and signed a "please move". The young man looked at his hands and frowned. "I don't know sign language. But I know you can hear just fine, so I'm telling you now; you don't belong here, and I will do everything in my power to get you out of this palace and away from the Princess. Why she's wasting so much time on a mute beggar is beyond me. . ." Goku was scowling in anger and held his fist at bay through sheer force of will.  
"Which is why you, Davin, will never have my heart," Chi-Chi's voice suddenly cut him off, and both faced her as she walked up behind the nobleman. "Move aside and let him pass," she ordered, and the noble did so grudgingly. Goku moved past him with a brief, smug smirk. "I want it made perfectly clear: This young man is a guest here for as long as he likes and will be treated with respect and kindness. If I hear one more word against him, the one who speaks it will be cast from this palace!" The nobleman went pale and Goku beamed happily. She then turned on her heel and she and Goku walked off. Goku reached over gently and took her hand, and she smiled and didn't object. The incident with the young noble didn't leave either of them in much of a mood for studying, though. After a few brief lessons, Goku motioned to the beach out the window and signed a "walk".  
"Oh, go for a walk on the beach?" she asked for clarification. He nodded. "All right, it's been a while since I did that," she smiled, and they headed for the beach.  
They walked along the warm beach in peace, Chi-Chi talking idly about various things, and Goku nodding to show understanding and interest. He glanced once, briefly, to the ocean, a faint feeling of homesickness creeping across his heart, and suddenly spotted Krillin peeking out from behind a rock in the surf. A quick look around showed him all of his brothers watching them from behind the rocks. They were fast enough to avoid Chi-Chi's gaze, however. She continued walking and talking, completely unaware of their added company. They were passing by the rock Raditz was hidden behind when she suddenly stopped and turned to Goku.  
"I really wish I knew your name," she said out of the blue. "I know that you've been trying to tell me, but I can't seem to get the pronunciation right. I don't like calling you 'you' all the time."  
"His name is Goku!" Raditz whispered, and Chi-Chi looked around in surprise. Goku barely managed to keep himself from reacting to his brother's slip.  
"Goku?" Chi-Chi repeated slowly, wondering if she'd really just heard something or if she'd imagined it. Goku nodded. "Then it is Goku?" she asked, and he nodded again. "Well, all right then! Goku!" They proceeded on their way, Chi-Chi delighted with finally knowing his name. Before long, they came to the spot on the beach where Goku used to leave her seashells. She sighed sadly, seeing the spot was empty.  
"No shells again," she said, and then turned to Goku. "Someone used to leave beautiful seashells here for me to find, but there hasn't been any in the last couple of weeks." Goku nodded quickly, and motioned to himself, while mouthing "that was me"! Chi-Chi looked at him in mild confusion for a moment, then her eyes widened. "You were the one leaving the shells? Is that what you're trying to say?" Goku nodded again. "You?" He nodded a little more slowly. She looked. . .disappointed. "Oh. I thought maybe it was the person who saved me from drowning," Chi- Chi sighed lightly, as her head started to drop, but then smiled up at him. "Well, I liked them all very much. Thank you," she said. Goku smiled, too, but it wasn't as strong as usual. If only he could make her understand that he really was the one who saved her from drowning! She still thought there was someone else out there responsible for saving her life, and her heart was divided because of it.  
"Maybe I should tell her about that, too," Raditz muttered to himself as he watched his youngest brother and the human princess. Chi-Chi, realizing she'd hurt Goku's feelings, decided to change the subject slightly.  
"You know, I'd really love to know where you got this beautiful necklace. I've never seen anything like it," Chi-Chi said lightly, reaching out to touch the long spiral shell in the center of his necklace. He'd never gone a day without it, or the seashell bracelets he wore. They were just one more part of his overall mystery.  
Goku looked at her in surprise. Beautiful? His tiny mantle? Compared to what his older brothers wore, it was so plain and small! But, he realized, she'd never seen what his brothers wore, only his things, and he supposed it was rather nice by those standards. He thought about it a moment, then reached up and removed his necklace. It was Chi-Chi's turn to look surprised, and before she could say anything, he carefully placed the necklace around her own neck. ((I can never go home again, and its true worth isn't known here. . .if she likes it so much, she can have it.)) he reasoned.  
"Oh! Oh, no! I don't want yours! I can't take it!" Chi-Chi jumped in surprise and moved to give it back, but Goku stopped her and smiled at her gently. He shook his head and patted the necklace gently, to show he wanted her to have it. "But. . .you always wear it. . .I assumed it meant a great deal to you," she said quietly, her cheeks flushing lightly. Goku gave a small nod, but made no move to take it back. "If-if you ever want it back, just let me know, and I'll give it right back!" she said quickly, and he looked amused and nodded. "All right, then. . ." she said, her voice fading away as she looked at his face. She was lost in his eyes again; he was standing so close. Her heart was pounding as her eyes began to slide closed and she leaned toward him, and Goku felt his heart leap as he quickly leaned in to kiss her at last. Their lips almost touched, but a large splash of salty seawater hit them both in the head before they could complete their kiss. They broke apart with much surprised sputtering, and looked at the ocean. "How did that happen?" Chi-Chi asked, clearly annoyed. Goku shot a quick look at his brothers, who looked around their rocks and shook their heads vigorously as if to say 'not us!' None of them saw the two pink eels lurking beneath the surface of the water.  
  
"Good job, boys! That was much too close. I thought making that foolish boy mute would be enough to keep her attentions and affections from him, but it seems I was wrong," Babidi observed as he watched Goku and Chi- Chi head back for her palace to get some dry clothes in his viewing bubble. The small sea wizard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Clearly, I need to take a more direct approach if I'm to accomplish my goals," he observed, and swam over to the shelves where he stored his spell-casting ingredients. He pushed several bottles aside, chose one, and then pulled out a glass ball with a live butterfly fluttering inside it. "I will have King Vegeta's youngest son in my power, and then the King himself - he will bow to me, and I'll make him writhe like a small fish before a shark!" Babidi declared as he threw the bottle and butterfly into his cauldron, and began to change into something else.  
  
Chi-Chi stood in a courtyard of her palace with a view of the beach. The sun had set a short while ago, and a cold wind was rising from the sea. Chi-Chi was staring at the dark waves, petting Korin, whom she held in her arms, and softly humming to herself the tune the man who'd saved her from drowning had sung over her. She didn't know it, but Goku was watching her from his bedroom window. As Bulma went out to join her, he turned away to finish preparing for bed. He was becoming very worried, because he had next to no time left to get her to kiss him. He had until sunset the next day; he had to get her alone and kiss her right away. He didn't bother to listen to what Bulma was saying to Chi-Chi.  
"Chi-Chi?" Bulma approached her life-long friend gently, and Chi-Chi turned her head to quietly face her.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I know you don't want to hear me say anything against the man you think saved your life, but. . .better than chasing after a dream man, is a real man - warm, caring, and close at hand," Bulma said softly, motioning towards Goku's window, where he could be seen pulling on a night shirt. Chi-Chi gazed up at him, and her lips twitched into a smile.  
"You know. . .you're right," Chi-Chi said, and Bulma smiled happily.  
"Goodnight, Princess. Sleep well," Bulma said, and headed back inside.  
"Goodnight," Chi-Chi called after her. She set Korin down and started to go to Goku's room to talk to him. But before she had taken three steps, a sound came drifting up from the beach; a masculine voice, raised in a strong, sweet vocalization. Chi-Chi felt her jaw start to drop as she realized it was the same voice that had sung over her after she'd nearly drowned. She whirled around and ran to the wall and leaned over to see who was singing on the beach. A fog was rolling in, partially obscuring the figure of a man with a cloak around his shoulders walking on the beach, something small on his chest glowing gold. The voice grew louder as he came closer, and soft gold tendrils seeped from the glowing ball on his chest. Chi-Chi didn't see the magic flying toward her, even as it flew into her eyes, and for a few moments made her pupils glow gold.  
  
Morning came and Goku and Piccolo were woken up by the sound of someone half-running past the door. Goku got up and heard voices nearby speaking in hushed, excited tones. Curious, he went to the door and listened, Piccolo joining him. Three servants stood a short distance away talking.  
"It's so sudden!"  
"But who is he?"  
"The Princess insists the wedding be this afternoon?"  
"That's what I heard!"  
Goku blinked. Wedding? This afternoon? Delight suddenly filled him to the bursting point. Who else could Chi-Chi be planning to marry? She hadn't seen any other man regularly, and it was clear she had feelings for him. In his excitement, he forgot about getting dressed, and ran to find her. The least she could have done was tell him before she started making plans! Piccolo scurried after him, rather relieved that his prince would be safe. He'd be human and mute for the rest of his life, but safe from Babidi. Goku turned a corner and started down the large steps to the second floor, but as he reached the midway point, Bulma's voice brought him to a halt.  
"Well, it seems I was mistaken. Your mysterious savior does exist!" Bulma was saying. Goku froze on the step; he saw on the floor below him that Chi-Chi was standing in front of Bulma next to a young man with shoulder length black hair tied back in a small ponytail. The young man had his arm around the Princess. "Still, aren't you rushing things a bit? I mean, shouldn't you at least wait for your father to get home?"  
"Not at all," Chi-Chi said woodenly. Her eyes were wide, glassy, and unblinking. "The wedding ship leaves at sunset." Goku felt his entire body go numb with shock. He shook his head slowly, mouthing 'no' several times. This couldn't be happening! He had saved her from drowning, so who was that man?! He started forward when Bulma saw him and shot him a quick look that told him to wait. It certainly hadn't escaped her notice that her old friend was acting very strangely. Something about this didn't feel right. Goku sucked in a breath, turned, and ran back to his room to get dressed and to clear his head. His green eyes flashing, the young man with Chi-Chi and Bulma glanced over his shoulder lightly to watch Goku's retreating form. He chuckled very quietly to himself as he lightly fingered the small shell he wore on a string around his neck. For a brief moment, it glowed gold.  
  
Goku tried desperately to see Chi-Chi all day, with no success. He was sent away without being seen. Bulma had tried multiple times to help him, and to talk Chi-Chi into waiting before marrying Richard (the man claiming to have saved her), but it was all for naught. As the sun began to sink, the hurriedly prepared wedding ship sailed out of the harbor, leaving Goku on the pier by some tied-up barrels. Piccolo stood at his side, wishing he could offer some kind of comfort, and Pu'ar sat in the water, crying quietly. Goku sank down onto the pier, his shoulders sagging, tears fighting to break free from his eyes. He'd failed. Chi-Chi was marrying someone else, and soon, he'd be one of those awful plants in Babidi's garden. ((How could this have happened?)) he wondered in misery.  
Turtle was swimming through the water to see how Goku was doing, having also heard rumors of the Princess Chi-Chi getting married, when he came across the wedding ship.  
"How nice, the wedding!" he said, and started to move in. Then he heard what sounded like Goku's voice coming from one of the lower portholes, and after a moment's thought, caught hold of a loose rope in his beak and climbed up to the porthole for a look. Inside was a room, and the black-haired, green-eyed young man getting ready for his wedding. He was humming and chuckling to himself.  
"All too easy," he said with Goku's voice. "Soon I'll have that merman in my power, and the oceans as well!" he laughed again as he moved in front of the mirror, and the Sea Wizard Babidi stared back at him. Turtle gasped, releasing the rope, and fell back into the water.  
"The Sea Wizard. . .!" he yelped as he fell. Once back in the water, he swam for all he was worth the rest of the way to Chi-Chi's kingdom. He got to the pier in moments, having spotted Goku from the distance. "Goku! Goku!" he called up, and Goku looked down at him. "Listen! I was swimming by the ship, and I heard your voice, and...and, the Wizard was in the mirror, and. . ." Turtle stuttered out quickly. Goku shook his head in confusion.  
"Slow down!" Piccolo barked. "What are you babbling about?"  
"The Sea Wizard!! The Princess is marrying the Sea Wizard in disguise!" Turtle snapped, and Goku's face filled with terror.  
"Are you sure?!" Pu'ar asked.  
"Yes! Positive!" Turtle nodded. Goku looked out at the distant ship, and at the sun, which was falling slowly toward the horizon. In his mind, he heard Babidi's words again: "before the sun sets on the last day. . ." Goku pulled off his boots and dove into the water, forgetting he still didn't really know how to swim with legs. Thinking fast, Piccolo cut the rope on the barrels, causing one to fall in to the water. Goku grabbed it when it bobbed back to the surface.  
"Pu'ar, get him to that ship as fast as you can!" Piccolo ordered, and Pu'ar grabbed the rope hanging from the barrel and started pulling.  
"Right!" she squeaked. Piccolo turned to the Turtle next.  
"Turtle, delay that wedding!"  
"What are you going to do?" Turtle asked.  
"I'm going to get the King!" Piccolo answered, diving into the water and swimming away. Turtle looked around for a moment, not sure how he could do his mission. Then he had an idea and swam off at top speed. As he went past several sea animals and birds, he called out to them. "Come on, everyone! There's an emergency! Prince Goku needs you! Come on!" The animals quickly followed.  
  
On the ship, the wedding march had started playing. As Chi-Chi walked down the aisle to her waiting groom, Bulma fidgeted uncomfortably and Korin growled at the strange man. Bulma knew something was wrong about this, but she wasn't sure what. Chi-Chi came up to Richard's side, and the old priest began to speak.  
"Dearly beloved. . ."  
  
"Hold on, Goku! We're almost there!" Pu'ar panted as she continued to pull the barrel and Goku along. "Just a little further!" They were almost to the ship, but the sun was hanging ever lower.  
  
"Do you, Princess Chi-Chi, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live?" The priest asked.  
"I do," Chi-Chi said, still stiff as wood.  
"And do you, Richard,. . ." the priest started, but "Richard" never heard the rest. At that moment, a group of seabirds dive-bombed him. He ducked, only to have water spat on him by three jumping dolphins. A sea lion found its way on deck and head-butted him into the wedding cake. He got up cursing, only to be attacked by a group of lobsters and star fish. Turtle, with the help of some of the others, got onto the deck and somehow managed to get up on his hind flippers and decked "Richard" hard. Richard grabbed Turtle in a fury. At that moment, Goku climbed onto the deck, and started to run to Turtle, when Korin broke free from Bulma's arms and jumped onto Richard's shoulders, biting and scratching. One of the cat's claws hooked the seashell and broke its strap, sending it through the air to smash into pieces at Goku's feet. From the broken bits rose a soft golden ball; in it was Goku's voice, still singing. The crowd, which had scattered when the attack on "Richard" began, leaned in close again, staring in shock. Chi-Chi gripped her head for a moment as the spell over her broke and her unclouded mind returned. The golden lights flew into Goku's throat, and he finished the tune at last with his own voice.  
"Goku. . .?" Chi-Chi gasped.  
"Chi-Chi!" Goku answered, and ran to her. She met him part way and he pulled her to him quickly.  
"Stop! Chi-Chi, get away from him!" "Richard" said in Babidi's true voice. Chi-Chi ignored him.  
"You can talk! You are the one..."  
"I tried to tell you. . ." Goku answered, and leaned in to kiss her. Chi-Chi went to kiss him in return, but before their lips met, the sun vanished from view and Goku jerked back, letting out a gasp of pain. There was a ripping sound as his pants tore. No longer able to stand without feet, Goku fell onto the deck with a hard thud. The crowd gasped, and Chi- Chi gawked. Goku's legs were gone, and in their place was a long, glittering, orange fish tail. Chi-Chi's mind filled with the pictures he'd drawn before of the merman rescuing her. It had been the truth. . .and it had been him!  
"Goku...!"  
"Chi-Chi, please understand...!"  
"You're too late! TOO LATE!" Babidi cackled loudly as his disguise melted away to reveal his true form. The crowd jumped back as the small octopus-man dashed across the deck, casting a quick spell to bind Goku's body. Babidi jumped onto the deck railing, pulling Goku along with what looked like a rope of light, and grinned at Chi-Chi as he dove overboard with the captured merman.  
"So long, Sweetie!" he called to her before they vanished into the water.  
"NO!" Chi-Chi cried as they disappeared underneath the dark waves.  
  
"Damn you, Babidi! You cheated me!" Goku snarled as Babidi pulled him along. Dabura and Buu joined them quickly, sniggering in triumph. Behind them was Pu'ar, terrified and uncertain how to help her friend. "You interfered!"  
"You think I ever gave a damn about your happiness? You're just a means to an end for me, boy!" taunted Babidi. "I have a bigger fish to. . ."  
"BABIDI, STOP!" King Vegeta's voice cut off the evil Sea Wizard's words, and his glowing Trident stopped Babidi's movements. Piccolo swam at the King's side, and from all other sides came the other six Sea Princes, armed with spears and swords made from stone, sharpened seashells, and coral.  
"Release our brother, Babidi!" the Sea Princes called.  
"Father! Brothers! I-" Goku started.  
"King Vegeta! What a pleasure. Lovely day, isn't it?" Babidi smirked at the Sea King.  
"Let my son go," King Vegeta warned.  
"No way! I own him now! We have a deal!" Babidi grinned sadistically as he held up the signed contract. King Vegeta scowled and blasted it with his Trident. The blow sent Babidi flying into a nearby rock, but the contract stayed intact. Babidi laughed. "See? It's legal, binding, and unbreakable! But then, I've always loved a good bargain," Babidi grinned deeply. "After all, a son of the great Sea King is quite valuable. . ." the contract suddenly flew from his hand and began to spin around Goku, shrinking him into one of Babidi's plants. "But, there are more valuable things to have in one's possession. I could always accept a trade."  
"You're out of your mind," King Vegeta said lowly.  
"Well," Babidi tilted his head a bit, "I suppose when you have seven sons, losing one is no big deal, is it?" and Goku began shrinking even faster. King Vegeta trembled in rage.  
  
Chi-Chi had climbed into a life boat with a spear gun shortly after Babidi had dragged Goku off. She was lowering the boat into the waves, which had suddenly begun to rise higher and more violently as with a storm, when Bulma leaned over the railing.  
"Princess! Chi-Chi, wait!" Bulma called after her.  
"I can't! He gave up everything for me, and because of me, he's in that hideous creature's grasp! I can't lose him! I won't!" Chi-Chi answered.  
"Don't go alone, at least!" Bulma cried, and leapt down into the boat with her before she could object. The impact of her added weight sent the boat the rest of the way into the sea and they began rowing as the other guests called after them. They could detect a soft glow on the surface of the water a short distance away.  
  
Goku was only a few inches tall now, his skin becoming gray-brown and his limbs spindly. Babidi was grinning again as he conjured a new contract.  
"Well? Is it a deal?" he asked impatiently. King Vegeta tightened his grip on his Trident and gritted his teeth. "I suggest you hurry. He doesn't have much time left." King Vegeta closed his eyes, let out a hissing breath, and raised his Trident again.  
"Father, no!" his other sons cried as light leapt from the Trident and wrote his name on Babidi's contract. Babidi laughed again as Goku suddenly grew back to his full size and the lights swooped around King Vegeta, shrinking him into one of Babidi's plants instantly. His crown, mantle, and Trident fell to the sea floor. "Father. . ." all seven sea princes gasped softly. Then Babidi snatched up the crown and Trident.  
"Finally mine!" he chuckled.  
"Give those to me!" Prince Vegeta bellowed, outraged at everything that had happened.  
"I think not," Babidi answered, and caused an abrupt current to send him into the distance.  
"Monster!" the others started to move in, and the Trident began to glow.  
"Contract or not, I'll ki-" Babidi started, but at that exact moment two spears came flying down from above, one cutting his shoulder, the other piercing one of his tentacles. He let out a yelp of pain and looked up, as did the others, to see Chi-Chi and Bulma floating overhead. Goku smiled at Chi-Chi, pride and love beaming from his face. Vegeta managed to re-join his brothers and gazed at Bulma in deep admiration. They had pulled off their dresses and were wearing only underclothes, and suddenly bolted for the surface to get some air. They burst out of the water gasping, but were pulled back down by Dabura and Buu. The two eels wrapped themselves around the two women and held them beneath the water, intent on drowning them. Piccolo swam up and started beating the daylights out of Dabura while Pu'ar laid into Buu. The eels released their grips on the women as each received a numbing blow. Babidi raised the Trident once more.  
"Say goodbye to your precious princess, Goku!" Babidi shouted, but before he could cleanly fire a bolt from the Trident, the princes jumped him with Goku and Vegeta in the lead, and the Trident's aim was pulled off target. Instead of hitting either of the ladies, it struck Dabura and Buu, and blasted them into chum. Babidi swore, and sent a whirlpool to slam the princes into every rock in the area. He then realized that his pets were now in bits. He caught some of the pieces in his outspread hands. "My pets! My poor little Dabura and Buu!" he wailed, and watched in fury as Goku headed for the surface with Vegeta a short ways behind him. Babidi began to seethe. His blood was boiling. He began to release great clouds of octopus ink into the surrounding waters as he decided what to do.  
Goku swam across the raging waves to Chi-Chi, who was barely able to keep her head up. The lifeboat she and Bulma had ridden had been swept away, and she had no where to go. In the distance, Goku could see Vegeta helping Bulma. His other brothers were fighting the stormy current and couldn't surface. He swam to his princess and embraced her quickly.  
"You have to get away!" he said.  
"I won't!" she answered, gasping. "I'll help you!" Then the madly churning water below them began to part. Within moments, Babidi, hundreds of times bigger than before, rose out of the water beneath them. They dove off of his head as he cackled. Chi-Chi was swept away, but Babidi's attention was focused solely on Goku.  
"Pathetic little fools!" Babidi's voice boomed over them as storm clouds surrounded him and the waves rose into tidal waves. "Now, I'm the ruler of the ocean! The waves obey me! The entire ocean bows to my power!" He then created a massive and deep whirlpool that pulled the water apart until the very bottom of the ocean could be seen. A sunken ship was pried lose from the ocean bottom and was sent spinning back to the surface. As it rose past her, Chi-Chi grabbed a lose rope hanging from it and pulled herself aboard. A hard wave knocked Goku straight into the whirlpool, and he crashed into the muddy ocean floor. Babidi grinned again as he raised the glowing Trident. "Goodbye, Little Sea Prince!" Babidi boomed, and started firing. Goku managed to dodge the first two blasts, but they were far too close for comfort. "That's it for true love!" Babidi declared, and made ready to fire for the final time. Chi-Chi had never steered a ship before, much less in stormy seas, but she managed to point the broken bow of the ship toward Babidi's bloated form. All she could think of was Goku, trapped at the bottom of the whirlpool. Carried by the raging waves, the ship picked up a huge amount of momentum, and Babidi didn't notice it until it was too late. The bow pierced his chest and lanced into his heart, and he screamed as he felt himself beginning to die. Power crackled as it left his dying form, and he sank back into the water, dragging the ship with him. Chi-Chi leapt from it back into the sea, which was rapidly calming with Babidi's loss.  
Babidi's shriveled form sank to the bottom of the sea, and in his lair, his garden began turning back into merpeople. They gasped and cried out in joy at their freedom as they swam away from Babidi's old home as quickly as they could. King Vegeta's crown and Trident drifted down to where he was, and as the two objects landed, he, too, returned to his proper shape, and reclaimed them. His sons swam up to him, greatly relieved.  
  
Goku watched as Chi-Chi dragged herself onto the shore. He'd been detained by the force of the falling whirlpool, and hadn't located her until he spotted her at the beach. Bulma was nearby, having been earlier delivered there by Vegeta. The eldest prince had stayed close by, and looked at his youngest brother without saying anything. King Vegeta and Piccolo emerged a short distance from the both of them. He didn't notice his oldest son's presence, but just observed the expression of his youngest as he watched the human girl lie on the beach and gasp. King Vegeta sighed quietly.  
"What should I do now?" he asked.  
"Your Majesty?" Piccolo looked up at him in confusion.  
"He's in love with her, very deeply, and clearly she returns the feeling. What should I do, then?" King Vegeta pondered aloud. Piccolo couldn't think of an answer. After a few moments, King Vegeta shook his head. "Let him be happy," he said, sounding a touch sad and tired. His Trident glowed brightly as he laid it flat on top of the water, sending glowing waves to Goku. Goku blinked, sensing a warm feeling around his tail. He looked down and his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw the light infuse his tail and start to transform it back into legs. He turned to look over at his father, who nodded at him, and Goku smiled his gratitude to him.  
Chi-Chi sat up as her strength began to return to her, and watched as Goku waded out of the sea, dressed in a sea blue shirt and pants, his arms open wide to her.  
  
"Chi-Chi!"  
  
"Goku!" She leapt to her feet and ran to him, flinging her arms around him. Filled with happiness, he held her tightly for a brief moment, and then kissed her at last.  
  
The royal wedding was held a few weeks later, after all of the proper preparations had been made. Chi-Chi's father, King Ox, had finally come home, and quickly approved of his daughter's choice. Piccolo stood by the cake as he watched Goku and Chi-Chi exchange their vows and rings, and kiss. Yajirobe spotted the green lobster next to the cake, but didn't recognize him. The cook tried to catch him anyway, until Lunch stopped him and said firmly that the lobster was a guest and not part of the wedding feast. Down below, several merpeople, including Goku's entire family, floated in the water, listening to the festivities on the deck of the wedding ship and waving up to the happy couple. Turtle and Pu'ar were in the water with them. It was now Prince Vegeta's turn to be in turmoil, as he realized he had fallen in love with lovely Lady Bulma. In the past few weeks, they'd actually started talking. He was torn between his duty as next in line for the sea throne and his feelings for her. Then someone lightly tapped his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. He turned, and stared at Bulma in the water swimming beside him.  
  
"Hello, Vegeta!"  
  
"What are you doing...?" he started, then looked down and stared at her newly formed fish tail, which was the same sky blue color as her hair. He snapped his head to his father, who was pointedly looking away.  
"She just wouldn't leave me alone," was all the king said. Vegeta smiled happily and wrapped an arm around Bulma, while waving to his brother on the wedding ship. As Goku and Chi-Chi waved out to his people, King Vegeta made the water around him swirl and lift him up to the level of the deck. His eyes full of pride, he squeezed his boy's shoulders and smiled at him.  
"Don't make me regret this," he warned, still smiling.  
"I won't, Father," Goku chuckled and then added, "Thank you." King Vegeta gave a nod and looked over at his new daughter-in-law, who curtsied gracefully. He gave her a smiling nod as well, just before he lowered himself into the water again. As the wedding ship moved on its way, Goku and Chi-Chi faced each other, and kissed again. And they lived happily ever after!  
  
The End. I listen to my mail! ! 


End file.
